An Unusual Proposal
by grouchymelon
Summary: When Olivia finally makes her choice, Jake finds he can't cope with her decision. He won't give her up without a fight, but he needs someone to take the edge off in the meantime. So Jake turns to the one person he can always manipulate. Jake/David
1. Chapter 1

It had been two days.

Or, more precisely, 46 hours, 38 minutes and 54 seconds.

Two days since Olivia had made her choice.

_I choose Vermont. _

Jake was currently home alone, in the dark, laying on his couch. It was an unusually sunny, warm day, for February, but the curtains were drawn and cold, stale air hung around the apartment. Jake couldn't remember if he went to sleep the previous night or just imagined it.

His brain wouldn't turn off. Instead, the scene kept playing on repeat, over and over again.

_I chose Vermont, with Fitz._

His heart was pounding, and he kept breaking out in a sweat. He had tried watching football, reading the news, browsing the web, but Jake found he couldn't concentrate for more than a few minutes. His hands lightly shook and twitched, and he couldn't lay down or settle in one spot for too long.

The TV was on, and he focused on a commercial about a new pill that supposedly combated depression.

Jake rubbed his forehead and wished he could be depressed. Depression made people slow, cumbersome, tired, and lethargic. It gave bodies rest.

No, he thought miserably. This was pure withdrawal.

He wished he could see her. Just be around her and get a little fix, but Olivia had banished him from OPA for a few days.

_Until you take the time to process this, I think it's best if you stay home for a while._

Jake reached down and grabbed his phone off the floor. He dialed Olivia's number for the 5th time that day and waited.

For the 5th time, she didn't pick up.

The shaking suddenly got worse, and he threw the phone across the room in frustration. Just hearing her voice would have taken the edge off for a little while. That's all he wanted. Just a few moments of inner peace. _But she won't even give me that_, he thought bitterly.

The movie in his mind raced on, faster and faster, and his shirt was getting damp again as another cold sweat came on.

Suddenly, his thoughts of Olivia, the shaking, the sweating, and the constant feeling of anxiety all came together, and the ticking time bomb within finally exploded.

Unable to take anymore, Jake launched himself up and upended his coffee table. He threw a mug and watched it shatter as it hit the wall. He yanked out drawers and dumped their contents on the floor. This feels good, he thought, as he rampaged through each room like a violent tornado, knocking things to the floor, kicking over tables, smashing delicate possessions against the walls. The internal chaos had finally become external.

Twenty minutes later, Jake lay on the cool kitchen tile, breathing heavily. The floor was littered with cutlery and pieces of broken dishes. He was sure cops or a concerned neighbor would show up at his door at any moment. But then he turned and saw a kitchen clock he had yanked off the wall laying beside him, showing a time of 2:37 PM. All of his neighbors were still at work. Nobody heard him.

After catching his breath, Jake heaved himself up and surveyed the mess he made. He gingerly stepped around the sharp remnants of former dinner plates and surveyed the living room. He sighed. The rampage had felt good at the time, but now his withdrawal was stubbornly creeping back. And the mess he had to clean up was just the big, depressing cherry-on-top.

Little things were picked up first, like the wall clock, a few stray papers, and a very battered TV remote. Not that the remote could be used anymore, considering Jake had thrown a half-emptied wine bottle he and Olivia had once shared at the TV, which smashed the screen and rendered it useless.

Jake found himself craving something cold to drink, so he grabbed a beer from his fridge before sitting down on the floor. The papers were still in his hand, and he smoothed them out.

He frowned when he realized what they were.

The papers were parts of the dossiers he kept on David Rosen and James Novak. He started them back when the two were trying to break the Daniel Douglas story. Jake still vividly remembered the night he shot and killed James. The three bodies on the ground. A terrified David at his mercy.

He took a swig of his cold beer as he re-read his own notes. At the time, he found both David and James to be boring assignments. James was slightly more interesting, considering he at least changed up his routines once in a while. But David always kept to the same routines, went to the same take-out restaurants, bars, and drug store. He was painfully predictable, and Jake hadn't put much of an effort into spying on him. The only thing David ever did that slightly peaked Jake's interest was Abby, Olivia's red-headed friend.

Jake found he was curious to know if David was still seeing her. He looked up at his laptop, one of the few things that survived the rampage, and then back down at the papers. He knew what would happen if he put David under his microscope. It was a consequence some agents suffered from always having to look in from the outside. Their professional obsessions morphed into their real obsessions.

Jake was one of those agents.

He was about to put the notion to rest, but then he realized he wasn't shaking anymore. He wasn't sweating either, and for a few moments, Olivia hadn't been on his mind. The raging internal storm was finally calmed.

"Well, Rosen," said Jake quietly, and he grabbed his laptop. "I hope you're doing something interesting."


	2. Chapter 2

"David!"

"No."

"I didn't even say anything yet," said Abby with annoyance.

"I know what you're going to ask. And my answer is a firm, resounding no."

Abby stomped up to David's desk and crossed her arms. "Isn't there something you can give me?! A snippet? A crumb? Anything? I feel like Oliver Twist here!"

David raised an eyebrow. "You're not a starving, little orphan boy from the nineteenth century. You want information on a case that you have no business sticking your nose in."

"Four senators, David! Four state senators have been arrested and I have nothing to give the press! I need something, I'm getting eaten alive!"

"And that," said David. "Isn't my problem. Abby, I'm sorry, but I just started working this case. Even if I was in a "sharing-is-caring" kind of mood, I'd have nothing to give you right now."

"I need something to give the press! They're acting like hungry wolves!"

"And I need to not destroy this case, because my higher ups aren't hungry wolves, they're hungry sabre tooth tigers. So no."

Abby was desperate. "David, please! The public and the press are out for blood, and until they get what they want, I'm the one taking all the heat right now." She held her head in her hands. "I don't know how much more I can take."

David sighed. "I'm sorry. I know it must be hard, but I can't give you anything," he said sympathetically.

Abby looked up and narrowed her eyes. "That's always the case, with you isn't it? You have nothing to give me at work, and you had nothing to give me when we were together."

"Oh, get over yourself, Abby!" said David. "Loose lips sink ships! If I share sensitive information with you this early on with a case, it could fall apart and you know it!"

"The American public have a right to know what their senators, the people who represent their voices, are doing!" Abby shot back. "Ever since you got the Attorney General position, all you do is—"

"Do what?" David asked angrily. "Do my job? Not allow myself to be manipulated by one of Olivia Pope's trained attack dogs?"

Abby took a step back. She looked as if she had been slapped, and David immediately regretted his words.

Abby…"

"Forget it," she said quietly, and turned on her heel and strode out.

"Abby!"

"Go to hell!"

David quietly cursed and threw a pen across the room.

He turned and looked out a window and saw it was getting dark.

Some of the interns outside his office were making plans with each other to barhop in a few hours.

He got up and closed the door. He walked over to his crystal decanter that was filled with bourbon, and poured himself a generous glass.

* * *

Jake was nervously tapping his fingers against the table as he kept his eyes trained on his glowing laptop screen.

He should be home by now, he thought, as he eyed the blinking red circle on the screen. According to the GPS tracker he placed under David's car three weeks earlier, David was still at the Justice Department. Jake checked the time again.

10:54 PM.

David usually came home late, but never that late.

Two weeks ago, Olivia extended an olive branch to Jake by inviting him back to OPA for part-time work, and he accepted. However, being around her turned out to be even more difficult than being shut out. To be so close and yet kept at such a distance was torture. So each night Jake rushed home to keep tabs on David, who's predictable nature brought him comfort.

But at that moment, Jake found himself on edge. For some reason, David had deviated from his routine, and Jake didn't like it.

Just then, Jake noticed a flicker of activity in the camera he had placed in David's apartment. The front door opened, and David stumbled inside, looking drunk and disheveled.

Must have taken a cab home, thought Jake, as he felt himself relaxing. He took a deep breath and focused all his attention on the home camera.

He watched as David clumsily moved around his living room, first going over to the sink to pour himself a glass of water, only to spill half of it. David attempted to clean it up with an entire roll of paper towels, only to give up half way and go over to the couch and lay down.

Jake watched him pull out his cellphone and jab at the screen.

Something must have happened with Abby, figured Jake. He quickly found out she was the only one who could upset David enough for him to get that drunk.

Jake picked up his phone and activated an app, which allowed him to see every outgoing text on David's phone.

David was saying how much he missed her and how sorry he was for "that stupid dog comment," whatever that meant.

"Never a good idea to drunk-text the ex," said Jake quietly, with a shake of his head.

He sat back in his chair and read each outgoing text.

Abby wasn't replying, and David gave up after a few more texts and dropped his phone on the floor. He watched David curl up on the couch and lay there, probably falling asleep, and felt that familiar tug.

Jake knew what that tug meant. He felt it before with Olivia.

After weeks of watching her, he wanted to make contact, become a part of Olivia's world. To touch her, be close to her. He felt it with all of the people he watched, but there was something special about her. An intensity that drew him in and made him desire her more than the others. After such a long time of observing her world, he did something he never did before, and actually made contact on that unforgettable day.

Just thinking about that memory made the cold sweat come back, and Jake worked stave it off. Over the past few days, the inklings of withdrawal started creeping back in.

He turned his attention back to David, but knew it wasn't enough.

He needed more. He needed to take it a step further.

Just watching wasn't good enough anymore.


	3. Chapter 3

David was working in his office when he saw Jake stride in, walk up to his desk, and slap a thick manila folder down in front of him. He grimaced at the sound. He still hadn't completely recovered from his hangover the night before. "Whatever you need, please don't explain it too loudly," he said, and rubbed his forehead.

"I need you," said Jake.

"What is it now? Is the Joker loose in Gotham?"

"I drew up a contract."

"A contract for what?" asked David warily.

"Something that can be mutually beneficial to the both of us."

"And that something would be what, exactly? Are you finally going to put me on your payroll for being your on-call punching bag?"

"No," said Jake, ignoring the jab. "I want you."

"I know. For what?" David asked again, getting annoyed.

"For now. Until Olivia takes me back."

David shook his head. "I still don't understand." He then pulled out a bottle of aspirin and downed two pills.

"You heard me," said Jake. "I want you."

"I heard, I just don't understand. Want me how, exactly? That punching-bag thing was just a joke."

"I don't want a punching-bag."

David frowned. "So… you want me…on retainer…as your lawyer? Because you're in trouble…again?" he asked slowly.

"I don't need a lawyer."

"Then what do you want?!" David asked, exasperated. "I'm the Attorney General of the United States! I don't have time to play Twenty Questions!"

"You're smart. Figure it out."

David sat back and closed his eyes. He didn't understand why Jake was being vague, and his pounding headache wasn't helping. But then he rewound their conversation, and when he got to the part about Jake wanting David until Olivia took him back, his eyes suddenly popped open.

"You're not serious," David said quietly, looking at Jake as if he had grown two heads.

"I'm serious."

"Are you on drugs?!"

"No," said Jake, starting to sound irritated. "Rosen, Liv chose _him_."

David closed his eyes. "Okay…but what does that have to do with me? I'm not exactly your type."

Jake crossed his arms. "You know nothing about my type."

"Jake, I'm sorry to break it to you, but I'm not into guys," said David. "I…really had no idea you swung both ways, but I however, do not. Have you tried the internet?"

"I watch people, you know," said Jake suddenly. "I spend countless hours on surveillance. Just watching the same people for weeks, sometimes months on end. Over the years I've watched both men and women. I grew attracted to each and every one of them, but I never acted on those urges until Liv. She had a stronger pull on me than the others. Her power is what immediately drew me in. I was fascinated by this woman who had such power and pull over so many people. The desire I felt for her was like nothing I've ever felt before. And when I first made contact… it was surreal."

Jake paused, and noticed David was listening intently, looking at him with a mixture of fear and fascination.

"It's all about watching someone's world, someone's life, from the outside," Jake continued. "I watch people go about their lives like someone watching a movie. And after a while, I want to be a part of that movie. I want them to know me, to feel me. It's like a drug. I become addicted to them."

Jake looked down. "But Liv doesn't want me right now. She wants _him_ instead. And now I'm in withdrawal. I can't sleep, I can't eat. The only thing I can keep down is water. I can't get her off my mind. When I try to go to sleep, memories keep playing over and over again in my head. She's a part of every thing I do. I can't stop thinking about her, and I'm losing my mind."

After Jake stopped talking, David struggled to come up with an appropriate response. He had no idea how to reply to everything he just heard. He knew he had to respond carefully, because he knew anything negative would likely set Jake off. David stood up and slowly walked around his desk. "I'm sorry," he said softly. "I read those files. I know you, Huck, and countless other B6-13 agents operate differently than the rest of us. I understand. But I can't help you the way you want me to help you. I can however, help you find a very good therapist."

"No!" said Jake forcefully. "You people… you normal people, will never understand people like me. Any therapist would run away from me screaming. I'm in deep withdrawal, Rosen! I'm an addict who's been cut off from his stash. Normal, recovering addicts eventually find purpose in their routines, their jobs, their families. But you know I'm not normal."

Jake looked at David with frustrated desperation. "I've been watching you for a while," he said, and David's apologetic expression quickly morphed into one of alarm.

Jake leaned forward. "I needed to. You took the edge off. I know your routines, so set-up was easy. You do the same things everyday, and I like that. You even shut your phone off before you leave every night, so you're not tempted to answer a call when you're driving home. You're safe. You're boring. And I like it. Liv is always so… energized and fiery, which I love. But I found I also have a taste for boring. It's comforting." Jake looked down. "But just watching isn't enough. It's starting to come back… the withdrawal from Liv, and I can't take it. I need to be with someone until I can get her back."

"Get out," David said quietly, backing away, eyes wide with terror. "Get away from me."

"Rosen…"

"Get out of my office."

Jake abruptly gripped the sides of his head. "Shut up! Just, shut up!" he yelled, and David flinched. "You just don't get it! Nobody else will do! I'm drowning, and you're the only way out! I don't have enough time to find someone else! I've been watching you for weeks now. I want you!"

"Leave," said David, his voice shaking. He clenched his fists. "You will not bully me into doing this. Take your contract and go."

Just as quickly as his rage had come to the surface, it dissipated, and Jake felt himself rapidly cooling down. He also realized he probably ruined what little chance he might have had of David agreeing to anything. "Fine," he said, sounding defeated. He was angry with himself for losing control. "I'll go. But I'm leaving the contract. I know you're a very curious person, and I know you'll find a very tempting incentive inside."


	4. Chapter 4

"Whoa!" said Alyssa, as she flipped the pages of Jake's contract. "This is… thorough."

"I know," said David, and took a sip of his bourbon as he paced around in his office.

"So are you going to do it?" she asked, looking up at her former boss with curiosity.

David shrugged, looking torn. "I don't know yet. Jake certainly knows how to play hardball, I'll give him that."

"He must have something juicy on Leo Burgen if you're even considering this."

David nodded. He had omitted the last page that listed David's "reward" which was Leo Burgen's B-613 file. He didn't want Alyssa finding out about B-613, so he just told her he was promised dirt.

He also felt disturbed, but not surprised that Jake had delved into his personal history enough to know Abby was his weakness.

Meanwhile, Alyssa read some more and let out a low whistle. "He lists some possible… kinks in here, if you're interested," she said, and shook the pages at him.

"Hell no."

"Might be fun."

"Again, hell no."

She smirked and leaned back. "You must really miss Ging, hugh?"

"You know her name's Abby. And yes."

Alyssa crinkled her nose as she looked down through the list again. "Ugh, what's—"

"No idea."

And how do you—"

"Again, no idea."

Alyssa laid the papers down. "So, what exactly would you agree to, if you signed it? Does he get like, a free pass to do whatever he wants?"

David's face suddenly colored. "Not whatever he wants. He gets to do the basics whenever he wants but—"

"That literally tells me nothing!" interrupted Alyssa, exasperated with David vagueness. "Elaborate on "basics" please."

"I'm old enough to be your dad!"

"But you're talking like a timid, little virgin right now," she said. "Seriously! I want some deets!"

"Deets?"

"Details!" said Alyssa impatiently. "Come on! I've seen him in the papers with Olivia. Jake Ballard's sexy as—"

"Okay!" said David, holding up his hands in defeat. "I don't know why you're making me say it, it's right there," he said, pointing to the contract in Alyssa's hand. "You read it yourself."

"But you have to say it," said Alyssa, suddenly looking serious. "David, right now this contract is just an idea, and it's going to stay an idea until you sign it. Then it becomes reality. I don't care how much you want to break up Ging and Leo. I really don't think you're prepared to do the things in this contract. You need to say them out loud. You need to hear yourself say what you're going to agree to."

Looking like a chastised child, David sat down across from Alyssa and didn't meet her eyes.

"We'll have to kiss," he said quietly. "He also gets to sleep in my bed with me. He gets to be affectionate with me me as long as he wants, whenever he wants. But there won't be sex in the contract. He states that he would prefer it, but he also says sex isn't completely essential, and if I can't do it, then there are other ways he can take care of that."

"So basically, Jake can get as touchy-feely as he wants, but no sex?"

"Correct."

"Unless you want it."

"Which I won't. Ever."

Alyssa handed the contract back to David. "He probably thought sex would be too much to ask," she said. "But hey, if you decide to do this, you could do a lot worse than Jake Ballard."

"Well, I'm not into men so I wouldn't know."

"Do you really know that for sure?" Alyssa asked. "What if this ends up going on for a while and you, you know, start liking him? You start missing him when he isn't around, and feeling happy when he is around. That doesn't mean you're suddenly into guys in general, it just means you're into him. That kind of stuff happens a lot more than you might think."

"And you know all of this how, exactly?" asked David skeptically.

"I took a sexuality course in college as a free elective."

"Ah," said David in mock deference. "Forgive me for questioning such an expert."

"Don't be an ass," retorted Alyssa. "I'm just trying to give you honest advice. And another thing," she said. "How do you know Jake's even good for the dirt on Leo?"

"Trust me. He can get it."

"Is Ging really worth all this?"

David looked over at Alyssa as if she were crazy. "Of course she is! I love her. I miss her. I wouldn't even consider doing this if it wasn't for her."

Alyssa sighed. "I just don't think you're being smart about this," she said. "Maybe Ging is happy with Leo. And maybe instead of signing your soul away, you go out, have a good time, go on dates, be slutty. Stuff normal, well-adjusted people do after breaking up."

"This," Alyssa said, holding up the contract, "is a deal with the Devil. If you think you have to do something like this to get her back, then maybe you and Ging should stay broken up."

"You're giving me a lot of mixed messages here," said David flatly. "First you say it might be fun, then you say it's a bad idea, then you say I might end up liking him, and now you're back on "it's a bad idea!" again. Make up your mind!"

Alyssa sighed and slumped back in her chair. "That's because I'm trying to give you a bunch of different perspectives! This whole thing is weird, freaky, odd, deceptive, and shady. But it's also kind of adorable in a very twisted way, so I don't know either!"

"Burgen is a slimeball," said David. "I know Abby. If Leo's done something violent or evil in the past, and I swear on my dog's grave he has, she'll jump ship quick. If I sign the contract and manage to get through this, then I know I'll get Abby back."

Alyssa however, didn't look convinced, and she stood up to leave.

"Look," she said. "I know you're not my boss anymore, but I always thought you were pretty cool… for an old dude. I wouldn't have passed the Bar if it wasn't for you. So I don't want you to do something that's going to get you hurt. Or turn you into a bad guy."

"I'm doing this to protect Abby."

"Uh, no," said Alyssa and she plopped herself back down across from David. "That's the biggest load of BS I've ever heard. You're doing this because you're super jealous. You're a good guy, and I don't want you to turn into a bad one. Jealousy does that, you know. It turns you bad."

"I'm sorry I asked your advice in the first place, because all you did was make me even more conflicted," said David bitterly, and he pinched the bridge of his nose. "I shouldn't have dragged you away from your job for this crap. Why don't you go, and I'll figure this out on my own."

Alyssa crossed her arms and remained seated. "No," she said stubbornly, and pulled out her phone.

David looked up. "What are you doing?"

"_I'm_ going to find something on Leo for you. Problem solved."

David chuckled. "Alyssa, what Jake has access to is something Google could never even hope of finding."

"Oh yeah?" said Alyssa, and she shoved her phone in David's face. "Because this looks pretty juicy to me."

Frowning, David took Alyssa's phone and read. He handed her phone back after a few moments, suddenly looking gloomy. "I can't use this," he said. "But I appreciate it."

"What?! This is crazy-good dirt! Why the heck can't you use it?!"

"Because I have a strong feeling Abby already knows about this."

* * *

David walked through the door of Stephen's old office and Jake glanced up from his desk.

"I read through your contract," said David, and he lightly tossed a folder onto the desk.

Jake raised an eyebrow. "So what did you think?" he asked.

"First of all, you have no idea how to properly draw up a contract, so I created a new version with corrections, as well as what I will and won't do if I even get near the thought of signing this thing."

Jake opened the folder. It took him a few minutes to briefly read through David's corrections.

David fidgeted nervously, wondering if his corrections would anger Jake and set him off. He always felt the younger man was a ticking time bomb right under the surface.

When Jake was finished, he simply nodded, much to David's relief.

"It's doable," Jake said. "So you're sure you're not into anything on the list I had in the original?"

"No," David said swiftly.

"Are you sure? Because—"

"I'm very sure."

Jake shrugged "Okay. I was just curious. Some people are into the funny stuff, but I didn't watch you long enough to know if you were or not."

David just silently stood there with an indignant scowl on his face.

"Well, it looks like this is good to go then," said Jake, and he tapped the folder. "Good work on the rewrite, Rosen."

David folded his arms and lowered his voice. "So how do I know you're good for the file?" he asked quietly. "Doesn't Charlie have them now?"

"Don't worry about the file, I can get it no problem," said Jake confidently. "But I have you until I get Olivia back. Got it?"

"Yeah."

Jake pulled out a pen but David stepped back, suddenly looking scared. "I need to sleep on it," he said, eying the contract nervously.

Tension suddenly flooded the space between them. "And just how long do you plan on sleeping, Rosen?" said Jake quietly, and David recognized the dangerous irritation in Jake's voice. Jake leaned forward and lowered his voice. "I'm barely holding myself together here," he hissed. "I can't wait forever while you flip-flop around!"

David held up his hands, hoping the little gesture of surrender would diffuse Jake's temper. "Give me one day," he said. "I'll be back here tomorrow with my answer," he promised. "I won't wait any longer than that, I swear."

The anger gradually dissipate from Jake's expression as he leaned back in his chair. "Fine," he conceded begrudgingly. "One day."

David left Jake's office and when he opened up the door to leave Pope and Associates, he came face-to-face with Abby.

"What are you doing here?" she asked. Looking puzzled.

David glowered. "What are you doing here?" he countered.

His attitude touched a nerve with Abby. "Not that it's any of your business, but Liv is my friend, and I like to visit my friends," she said, and strode past David.

"Just like how you came to my office three weeks ago? Desperate for info on those four arrested senators because the press was, how did you say, 'Eating you alive'?" David asked skeptically.

Abby spun around. "Excuse me?"

"Or," continued David. "Were you really pressing me for info because your _boyfriend_ headed the election campaigns for two of those jailbird senators?"

Abby clenched her fists. "Who do you think you are?" she said, practically growling.

"Someone who will no longer be played like a fool."

"You don't need me to do that," countered Abby. "You were a walking, incompetent joke before the President handed you the Attorney General position."

"Oh don't even think—"

"We're trying to get work done."

David and Abby both stopped and turned towards the sound of Quinn's voice. Huck, Quinn, and Jake were standing a few feet away, quietly watching the argument.

"If you two want to spend all day verbally attacking each other, take it outside," said Quinn, and she turned and left the room.

Huck went over to Abby. "Olivia's not here right now, but I'll let her know you stopped by."

"Thank you, Huck," said Abby, and then turned back to David. The two stared daggers at each other for a few seconds, before David broke away, and walked right back into Jake's office. He yanked the contract towards him, grabbed a pen, and pressed down hard as he signed. He then turned and wordlessly strode out of Pope and Associates.

Abby watched him leave. She waited a few minutes, not wanting to run into him on the way down, before she left as well.

Jake went back into his office and studied the contract. He couldn't help but smile when he saw David's neat, bold signature. But then he felt someone standing in the doorway and he quickly shut the folder.

"What was Rosen doing in here?" Huck asked.

"He forgot something," said Jake. When he sensed Huck was still standing there, he looked up. "Can I help you?"

Huck studied Jake for a few moments before saying a quiet, "No."

Jake put the folder in his desk drawer and locked it. "Before you go, I need you to tell Liv when she gets back that I had to leave early today," he said. "Personal reasons."


	5. Chapter 5

It was after six PM when David finally came home to his quiet apartment. He took off his coat and hung it up, before going over to the kitchen. He started to rummage around his cabinets, looking for a bag in instant noodles he swore he had just seen the other day.

"I got you a sandwich."

"What the hell?!" exclaimed David, whirling around to see Jake calmly sitting on his couch.

"I went to JJ's BBQ," Jake continued. "But I know you can't have the pulled pork, so I got you a jerk chicken sandwich instead."

David backed up against the counter, instantly terrified. He inwardly cursed himself for making such a snap decision earlier. "How did you get in?"

"I needed to move my things in, so I did."

"You're moving in?" David looked and saw a suitcase up against the wall and he broke out into a cold sweat. He hadn't expected everything to be so instantaneous. David's apartment was his home, his safe haven. The idea of having to live with Jake, who had become David's personal hell over the past year and a half, was too daunting.

"It was either here or you moving into my place, which isn't really habitable at the moment," said Jake.

"Do we _have_ to live together?" David asked weakly.

"Yes."

Jake reached into the fast food bag and tossed David a wrapped sandwich. "It's chicken."

David promptly tossed it back. "Can't have it. Not kosher," he said, but the last thing on his mind was dinner. His appetite was completely gone.

"I said it wasn't pork," said Jake, sounding annoyed.

David sighed. "I don't really feel like explaining the intricacies of Jewish law and meat right now. Besides, I'm not even that hungry." He went over to his liquor cabinet and poured himself a drink. When he sat back down, Jake started to move close, but David held up a finger.

"See this?" David asked, and pointed to his glass. "It's one of the best bourbon brands on the market. The company, Four Roses, stopped selling it in the United States for forty years, and it was brought back in the early 2000's. And _you_ are not going to invade my personal space until my glass is empty. Because by then I won't care what you do."

The undercurrent of anger that was always right below Jake's surface suddenly spiked. "That isn't part of the contract, Rosen."

"And neither was you moving in, but here we are," said David bitterly, and he took a long sip of his drink.

"Look, I don't care if you're into it or not," said Jake. "But we can't do this if you aren't going to be conscious."

"I won't be unconscious. This just makes me numb, and that's the only way I can do this."

Jake suddenly yanked David close and attempted to kiss him, but David abruptly turned his head the other way. "Rosen."

David noticed the dangerous tone of Jake's voice, and he tried to ease himself away. "Please, just give me a few minutes," he said. "I want to finish my drink first."

Jake glared at David, who had come to recognize that look in Jake's eyes as one of impending danger.

David tried to move away but Jake's arms shot out and he gripped David's arm and twisted. The glass fell to the floor and shattered, and David's cried out in pain.

"I've been patient with you," said Jake through clenched teeth. "But my patience has a limit." He gripped David's arm tighter. "So what's it going to be? You can either man up and do what you agreed to do, or face serious consequences."

"Okay, okay! I'll do it," said David meekly, and Jake finally let go.

David slumped forward and clutched at his sore arm.

Jake stepped in front of him. "Stop acting like a weakling and sit up." He watched as David let go of his arm and glanced up. Jake expected to see the usual fear in David's eyes, but this time he didn't see it.

"That," said David, "was your freebie."

"What are you talking about?"

"Check the contract. You didn't notice it, did you? I put in a clause, in very fine print at the bottom of page three. If you physically harm me in any way, I don't have to fulfill my end of the deal." He rubbed his arm. "So because you didn't read it I'll let this one go, but the next time it happens, I'm out. And you'll still owe me that file."

Furious, Jake got up and rounded on David. "You think you're real clever, don't you?!" he asked savagely, and felt a little satisfaction when David visibly flinched.

"I think it's only fair," said David, trying not to look scared. "Because you're my nightmare, Jake. Ever since the night you shot James, you've been in my nightmares. You're my personal terrorist! So I knew I'd have to protect myself from you if I ever signed that contract."

Jake felt the urge to just lunge forward and go for David's neck, but he managed to stop himself. As if reading Jake's mind, David tensed up, bracing himself for another attack. But Jake didn't attack that time. He stepped back and took in the scene before him. The combination of broken glass and amber liquid on the floor. David, pressed up against his couch, clutching at his arm and looking at Jake as if he were a wild animal. He turned and walked away, knowing he needed to cool off.

David listened as Jake's retreating footsteps landed heavily on the hardwood floor and closed his eyes. He felt terrified and trapped. _I need a way out_, he thought, and put his head in his hands, trying to brainstorm ideas. He briefly considered provoking Jake a second time, which would render David's end of the agreement null, but he also didn't want to be attacked again. Jake could easily do a lot of damage to him.

"Here."

David heard a soft clinking noise by his ear and looked up. Jake was standing beside him, holding a new glass filled with ice and bourbon. He looked up at Jake and then back at the glass, before cautiously reaching out to take it.

"If this is what you need, then I guess I'm okay with that," said Jake, and he sat down beside David.

David sipped at his drink and side-eyed Jake. It was always hard for him to figure out what Jake would do or say next. He certainly wasn't used to Jake being agreeable. He sipped his drink in silence until the glass was half full and then slowly held it out. "Thanks."

Jake took it and gradually finished it off. "It is good bourbon," he remarked, and then looked over at David's arm. "You need an ice pack?" he asked.

David shook his head no.

"Sometimes, when I get frustrated, I lose control," said Jake. "I'll try not to do that anymore. And I know it's not realistic to expect you to jump into this right away either."

Then, Jake suddenly reached out and grabbed David's hand. "Can I do this?" he asked. "Please… it's been weeks since I've touched Olivia. I won't ask you to do anything else right now, but I need something."

David felt Jake squeeze his hand, and he didn't feel disgusted or the urge to pull away. It occurred to him that Jake would probably never be able to form normal, healthy relationships with other people. Maybe at one time he could, but B6-13 must have changed that. Something inside of Jake must have been permanently broken during his time in B6-13. No normal person had to resort to bribing other people for human contact. The thought of having to live one's life in such a way made David feel profoundly sad.

"I'll try," said David quietly. "I can't guarantee I'll be good at it, and I can't guarantee I won't be squeamish about it, but I'll try. I'll uphold my end the contract, but you can't hurt me or threaten me anymore. I won't live like that."

Jake nodded. "I know."

"I mean it. I won't live in fear."

"I know."

Jake was still holding onto his hand, and David leaned back against his couch and sighed. He was unaware that Jake was studying him.

"Can I try something?" Jake asked.

"Try what?"

"Just relax."

David sensed Jake was getting closer. "Hey, what are you doing?!"

* * *

The next day in David's office, Alyssa stood over him, dabbing tan liquid onto the bottom right side of his neck, looking mildly amused. "I still can't believe you called me all the way over here because you needed help covering up a hickey."

"Shut up."

Alyssa tut-tutted. "Well, if this is going to be a regular occurrence, you'll need to buy your own cover-up. This stuff isn't cheap."

David rolled his eyes and straightened up when Alyssa was finished. "Thanks."

Alyssa dropped the bottle into her purse. "You know, I still don't like that you made a deal with the Devil, but…"

"But what?"

"You can't tell me you didn't enjoy it a little bit. I mean… the guy clearly has some talent."

"You're enjoying this, aren't you?"

"Very much so, yes. I actually think I'm going to cancel my subscription to People Magazine, and just come over here more often. It's much more entertaining!"

David was about to fire off a retort when Abby suddenly walked in, and he froze when he saw her.

Alyssa looked back, saw Abby, and then cocked an eyebrow at David, before slinging her purse over her shoulder and striding out.

Abby waited patiently for Alyssa to leave before saying a soft, "Hey." She looked back to see if Alyssa was truly gone and then nervously wrung her hands. "So…do you have a minute?"

"I have a few," said David, curious. "What's going on?"

Abby crossed her arms and sighed. "I just… I wanted to apologize for the things I said yesterday. They were cruel and mean, and I'm sorry. I don't want us to argue every time we run into each other."

David shrugged and softly smiled. "Well, for what it's worth, I'm sorry for what I said too."

"Thank you," said Abby, looking relieved. "I know we didn't work out, but I want us to be friends."

"I'd like that," said David, but he felt guilty. He was lying right to Abby's face, saying she could trust him as a friend, while he was actively working to get dirt on Leo behind her back. He knew he should do the right thing and find a way to end his and Jake's agreement. He knew he should just accept the fact that Abby moved on, and go about doing the same. He might never get her back, but he would at least know he did the right thing. His nagging conscious kept saying, "If you love someone, then let them go," over and over again in his head.

But then she smiled, and David was immediately hit hard with an intense, strong ache for her. He remembered how happy she made him. How he trusted her, and loved her more deeply than anyone.

He couldn't just move on from Abby. She was special.

"We can be friends," he assured her.

"Thank you," she said softly, and then turned to leave.

"Bye, Abby."

He watched her walk away, and tried to push his feelings of guilt aside with a daydream of him and Abby living happily together after this whole ordeal was finally over.

But then his phone suddenly buzzed to life, jolting David back to reality.

He picked it up and glanced at the caller ID.

Jake.

David quickly got up and closed his door before answering. "Yeah, what is it?"

"We have a problem."


	6. Chapter 6

"A problem? What do you mean a problem?" asked David, and he nervously started to pace back and forth.

"Charlie's a bust," said Jake. "He won't tell me where he hid the files."

David inwardly cursed. Nothing was ever easy. "Why?!" he demanded.

"I guess I handled him a little too roughly for his liking the last few times we met. But I have a backup plan. We need to go to Anacostia tonight. I have a contact there who might be able to persuade Charlie."

"You're out of your mind if you think I'm going to Anacostia at night."

"Look Rosen, if you want that file, I can get it, but I need someone for backup. I have a contact who could persuade Charlie, but he's not completely right in the head."

David rolled his eyes. "Color me shocked. Why don't you just get Huck to go with you? I'm not exactly GI-Joe as far as back-up material goes."

"If we took Huck, he'd figure things out and tell Liv. And neither of us can risk that happening."

Jake was right, even though David was loathe to admit it. "Fine, I'll meet you there. But I'm doing so under protest."

* * *

Darkness had fallen over D.C. two hours ago, and Jake and David were standing on the sidewalk when a beat-up looking van pulled up in front of them.

"This is him," said Jake with a nod.

David crossed his arms. "Nice ride," he said sarcastically. "Definitely has that whole pedophile-chic thing going on."

After a few moments, the driver got out and shuffled over to Jake. His hair was thick and gray, and in desperate need of a comb. The man's clothes were haggard and torn, and he had a long beard that stretched down past his chest.

Jake held out his hand. "Marvin," he said, and the haggard man reached out and shook.

"Ballard," Marvin said, his voice low, gravelly. "You got the stuff?"

Jake pulled out a small plastic baggie with white powder and tossed it to Marvin. "You'll get the rest after I get the file."

When he recognized what was in the baggie, David's eyes widened. "You paying him in cocaine?!" he asked, rounding on Jake. "Really?!"

"Do you want the file or not?" Jake asked calmly.

David put a hand over his face and softly groaned. "Fine," he muttered. "But I see nothing! Understand?"

"Yeah," said Jake, and he turned back to Marvin. "Get in touch when you have it, okay?"

Marvin was already walking around his van. "You got it," he mumbled, and David and Jake stood on the curb and watched Marvin drive off.

"I'm surprised he didn't have a "Free Candy" sign on the side of that thing," said David derisively. "Seriously, when he first pulled up, I thought he was going to say he needed help finding his lost puppy."

Jake grabbed his arm. "Come on, let's go. It isn't safe to be standing around here at night."

"So, I'm curious," said David as he was pulled along. "Not that I'm complaining or anything, but why are you going this route? Why not just hurt Charlie? Not that I want you to," he added quickly.

Jake continued to pull David along. "Because I'm getting the file for you, and I know you and your stupid white hat wouldn't want me to do...dubious things for it. Charlie likes Marvin. They always got along when we were in B6-13 together. So for now, this is the easiest way to get the file."

David was silent for a little while as they walked. He was surprised Jake had thought to consider his feelings when it came to getting the file. "That's… actually very nice. Thank you."

Jake cleared his throat. "You signed the contract, so it's your file. I know you wouldn't want it if I hurt Charlie to get it."

"I appreciate that. But I'm still not happy about the drugs."

"It is what it is. Marvin goes through it like candy so I figured it was my best bargaining chip."

When they got in the car, David buckled his seat belt and put his key in the ignition. Jake suddenly lunged forward and grabbed David, kissing him on the neck.

"Hey!" said David, trying to disengage himself. "Can you at least wait until I get home and get drunk?!"

Jake didn't pull away.

David slumped back in his seat and sighed. "Fine. Go ahead. Just don't bite my ear again."

"It wasn't a full-on bite," replied Jake.

"That's beside the—ah!" David suddenly let out an involuntary whimper as Jake latched onto his neck.

Jake grinned and pulled away. "I got your sensitive spot again, didn't I?"

David colored. "Shut up. And if you're going to keep going for my neck, you're paying for make-up! The attorney general of the United States cannot walk around with hickeys on his—ah!" he cried out again. He clapped a hand over his mouth while he let Jake finish.

"You know," said Jake, after he finally pulled away and sat back in his seat. "You wouldn't make that little sound if you didn't like it."

"It hurt," lied David, as he drove off.

"Right."

* * *

It was after ten PM, and David was in his bathroom, studying his neck in the mirror. He made a mental note to stop by the drug store and get the cover up Alyssa had. He then quietly stepped into his bedroom, not wanting to make extra noise since Jake was sleeping. He would rather the sleeping lion stay sleeping.

David hated sharing his bed. He eased himself onto the mattress and slowly pulled his sheet up. He turned on his side, facing the wall, and laid up against the edge, wanting to keep a wide distance between him and Jake. He tried to relax and let his mind go blank so he could sleep, but knowing Jake was right there beside him didn't make it easy.

After a frustrating half hour of trying to force himself to go to sleep, David finally felt himself slipping off.

"I didn't kill your son!"

David flinched at the sound and his eyes flew open. "What the hell?!" he said, sitting up.

"I didn't kill your son!" Jake yelled again, and thrashed.

"Jake, what the hell?" David said, and tried to shake Jake's shoulder. Without warning, Jake's elbow shot backwards and forcefully connected with David's chest. David was thrown off the bed off the bed and hit the floor hard. Pain had exploded across his chest and he grimaced as he curled up in pain.

"Rosen?"

"Down here," David muttered through clenched teeth.

Jake poked his head over the side of bed, completely awake and alert. "What happened?"

"You," said David, as he finally pulled himself up. "I was just about to fall asleep when you started screaming about killing someone's kid. I didn't know you're a sleep yeller. You need to warn me about that kind of crap!" David crawled back into bed and flopped down on his side, facing the wall. "What the hell was that?" he asked. "Were you dreaming or was that a B6-13 flashback?"

"It wasn't anything," said Jake, who got up and went to go make himself a drink.

David curled up to the edge of the bed again, annoyed. "Whatever," he grumbled.

When Jake finally came back, David was still wide awake. "So," David said. "What exactly are you going to do to get Olivia back?"

"Don't worry about it," said Jake, and he took a long sip of David's bourbon.

"You see, I do worry about it," said David, who turned around and sat up in bed. Jake rolled his eyes and sighed in irritation, sensing a long conversation. "Because," continued David. "it's only been two days and I don't know how much more of this I can take."

"I do have a plan," said Jake, and ran a hand through is hair. "But I haven't been able to meet with this guy up until now. I have an appointment with him tomorrow morning."

"The guy?" David asked, starting to feel worried. "Who is this guy? A guy as in an assassin guy?! Jake, you cannot assassinate the President! That's out of the question!"

Jake sat his glass down on an end table and laid down. He reached out and pulled David back down alongside him. "Would you calm down? I'm not assassinating anyone," he promised, sounding exasperated with their conversation. "Just go to sleep, Rosen."

David turned over so he wasn't facing Jake. He felt Jake tug him close again and fidgeted nervously. "Well, I know first-hand what you're capable of, and it's a legitimate concern for me to have," he said.

"Stop twitching and freaking out," said Jake with a frown. "Or we'll both be up all night."

David tried to relax. "Sorry. But when an expert assassin talks about meeting up with "a guy" it makes me think of the obvious, and the obvious really terrifies me and freaks me out."

"You don't relax much, do you?"

"No, not really. I can't. My mind always goes right to the worst case scenario. It's how I'm wired."

"You're safe with me," said Jake. "I know you don't believe that, but you are. You can relax around me."

"Based on our history together, that's kind of hard for me to do," said David flatly. "Just last night you almost broke my arm."

"I didn't want to," said Jake. "But it's hard to keep the B6-13 switch off. I don't like terrorizing people. I don't want to be your nightmare. I know you're just a nice guy who tries to do what's right. You just go about it stupidly sometimes. You're naive and a bit of a coward, but you're in a position of power, and that's what made you the perfect asset for a guy like me. I can use you, exploit you, and I know I'll get what I want from you at the end of the day. Guys like you will never be killed. You're too useful."

Blood drained from David's face. He didn't feel like he was laying next to another human being anymore. "The way you talk," he said fearfully. "It's like you're some kind of monster talking about it's prey."

"I know," said Jake solemnly. "But you're not prey. Prey is killed. Prey isn't useful beyond satisfying a one-time need. You were useful. An asset. And that kept you alive.

David closed his eyes, and due to the intense terror he suddenly felt, he was barely able to say, "What's keeping me alive now?"

"You're not an asset anymore."

"Oh God…"

"You're one of the closest things I have to a friend," finished Jake.

David opened his eyes. "What?"

"You don't judge me. You don't condemn me. Despite everything you've seen me do, and everything I've done, you don't detest me. I can see it. You don't have it in you to hate people. That's very rare, Rosen. Not many people are like that."

Confused, David slowly turned around so he was laying on his other side, facing Jake. "Then why have been so awful to me?" he asked. There was an angry edge to his tone. "Why do you instill fear in me? Why did you make me your punching bag if you think I'm so great, Jake?"

"Because," said Jake patiently. "When I did those things, you were an asset. I took no pleasure in it, trust me."

"You take pleasure in something though," said David. "Because I didn't want to crap my pants, I didn't read that part of your file. But I read the others. The other agents, they all had a thing, a ritual they did during their killings that gave them pleasure. What was yours?"

"I'm not going to tell you that."

"You just got done saying how I don't judge you. If you trust that, then I need to know what you like. I need to know who you are."

"Fine," said Jake steadily. "You really want to know?"

David took a deep breath and nodded.

"I like to break their bones," said Jake. "I liked breaking their fingers, they're easy to snap. I liked the sound. And when they screamed out in pain, I'd lick their tears. There's something about the sound of that crisp snap, and the saltiness of their tears that did something amazing to me. It made me feel so good...so alive."

A very pale David had his hand over his mouth, looking like he was trying to force sickness back down his throat.

"It makes you sick, doesn't it?" Jake asked.

David slowly nodded, and pulled his hand away. "I'd be lying if I said it doesn't," he said weakly. "I… I don't know how to reply to that."

Jake was staring at him with wide, intense eyes. "That's who I am," he said quietly. "That's who they turned me into."

David studied Jake for a few moments and then suddenly hugged him.

Jake frowned in confusion. "David…"

"I'm so sorry," David said sadly. "They can't get away with doing this to people."

Jake liked the affection but he didn't like feeling like a victim. "What's done is done," he said. "But you wanted to know who I am, so I told you."

"It's not right," said David. "I'm the Attorney General. I need to make them pay."

"No," said Jake firmly. "We tried, remember? We failed, but we're alive. I'd like to keep it that way."

David pulled away. "There has to be something we can try," he said, but Jake grabbed both sides of David's face and looked him in the eyes.

"No," he repeated. "We're not dying for a lost cause." He looked down. "If you want to help me, if you want to help me feel better, then just uphold your end of the contract until I get Liv back. That's all I want."

Disappointed, David had no choice but to nod in agreement. "Fine."

Jake was still holding David's face in his hands. "I know this is an odd time to ask, but would it be okay if I kissed you?" he asked softly. When he saw the reluctance in David's eyes, he added, "It'll make me feel better."

After a few moment's hesitation, David slowly nodded.

Jake pulled David closer but he was gentle. He wasn't rough or menacing this time. But he could tell David was still having second thoughts.

"Jake, could we possibly take a rain check? I don't know if I want to do this right now."

"Stop talking," said Jake softly, and he leaned in and kissed David before he could say anything else. He felt that familiar high again. The high that set in whenever he was intimate with one of his "assignments."

David was surprised he didn't cringe or feel like gagging, both of which he had expected to do. Jake was warm, and lightly tasted of bourbon, which helped.

Jake was about to pull away when he felt David suddenly start kissing him back. Shocked, he opened his eyes and realized David was pressed up against him, clutching the back of his shirt.

David silently begged himself to stop but he couldn't. It had been so long since he last kissed someone. When he finally was able to pull away, he stared up at Jake, wide-eyed, as if he couldn't believe what he just did.

Before Jake could say anything, David quickly turned over. "I'm going to sleep," he said tersely.


	7. Chapter 7

Jake was seated comfortably, looking out through the tall windows off to his left, where he could see the rising Sun's glow through the trees. When the door behind him opened, he stood up and turned around, as was expected.

"Jake."

"Mr. President."

Fitz walked towards him, looking worried and confused. "Did something happen to Liv?"

"No, she's fine," said Jake.

"So why are you here then?"

"Because there's something important I want to talk to you about," said Jake. "Project Winchester, to be precise."

Fitz felt his whole body ice over. He immediately knew what Jake wanted. "Winchester," he repeated. After Olivia had chosen him, Fitz had been happy, but he hadn't rested easy either. He knew Jake would try to make one more stab, one last strike to tempt Olivia. To Fitz, Jake was like an injured predator that refused to acknowledge his defeat. "Well," he said, trying to sound calm. "I can't say I'm surprised that you're this desperate to resort to blackmail."

"I'm not desperate. Winchester was always my trump card and now I'm finally playing it," said Jake smugly.

"Or maybe," said Fitz, "you just can't force someone to love you, can you Jake?" He was not going to allow Jake to threaten him without firing back.

Jake's anger suddenly spiked to the surface, putting a crack in his calm veneer. "This can bring down all of you. It'll destroy your reputation and credibility. The American people are very fickle. Even in the most dire of circumstances, someone like Olivia Pope can easily repair your reputation and make them adore you again. But if they find out about Winchester, no matter what you say, or who you hire to defend you, people will never forgive you. Your family name will be permanently stained. People will remember you as a dark mark on our nation's history. But that doesn't have to happen, Mr. President. You know I'm reasonable. If I'm given what I want, I'll erase "Winchester" from my vocabulary."

Fitz knew Jake wasn't wrong. He crossed his arms and looked out the window. "And you want Liv."

"I do. And think about this, Mr. President. What do you think Liv would have to say about Project Winchester?"

"Get out."

Jake sighed and held up a finger. "I wouldn't' be so quick to dismiss me if I were you." He looked overwhelmingly confident then, which infuriated the President even more. "You see, right now I have easy access to the Attorney General."

Fitz's frown deepened. "Keep threatening me like this," he dared. "Keep it up and see what happens. See where you end up."

Jake shrugged. "I don't really care," he said honestly. "Without Liv, I have no purpose. I have no problem sacrificing myself to tear you down. I can blow the whole lid off Winchester whenever I want. And David Rosen will go after you with everything he has. You don't want that, do you?"

"Leave."

Jake paused, and then nodded cordially. "As you wish, Mr. President," he said, and led himself out.

Fitz was practically seething as he watched Jake leave, and then he hurried out of the Oval and over to his secretary. "I need to speak with Cyrus. Now!"

"There's no need to raise your voice, Mr. President, I'm right here," said Cyrus, who was standing calmly in the doorway.

Feeling immediate relief, Fitz let out a sigh. "Cyrus, thank God."

Cyrus followed Fitz back into the Oval and shut the door behind him. He patiently looked on as the President angrily paced around.

Fitz paused and glared at Cyrus. "Winchester, Cy. Jake's threatening me with Winchester. I want tighter surveillance at the DOJ," he demanded. "I want an undercover security detail assigned to David Rosen at all times. Jake Ballard—"

"Will be dealt with," finished Cyrus. "I'll take care of it."

Fitz turned away and looked out at the gardens through a window. "Winchester needs to stay buried, Cy."

"I know," said Cyrus, the wheels already turning in his head. "I'll get things moving."

* * *

Later that evening, Jake walked into the Justice Department and made his way to David's office. He had expected the place to be empty, but there were still a handful of DOJ employees milling around. Jake caught a few of them side-eyeing him and resisted the urge to smirk to himself. _Security detail_, he thought. The President worked fast.

He was walking up to David's door when one of the younger looking employees approached him.

"Excuse me, sir? Do you have an appointment?"

Jake stopped and politely smiled. "Yes, I do. I'm Eric Green. I know it's late but I have an urgent matter and Mr. Rosen agreed to meet with me tonight. I believe his secretary told me nine thirty."

The young man went over and checked David's schedule on the computer. "Eric Green at nine thirty," he confirmed. "Now I'll just need to see your ID and you'll be all set."

Resisting the urge to grin again, Jake calmly pulled out his wallet and handed over a driver's license.

The man gave it a cursory glance and handed it back. "Thank you Mr. Green. Here's your visitor's pass," he said, handing Jake a temporary badge. "Just make sure it's displayed above your waist at all times."

Jake smiled politely and clipped the badge to his shirt pocket. "Will do." He was glad he hacked his way into David's schedule earlier that day, after his discussion with the President. He knew Fitz would start keeping a closer eye on the DOJ. He went over to David's door and went inside.

David was slumped over on his desk, head resting on his crossed arms, and lightly snoring.

Jake shut the door with force, startling David awake.

"Holy–,"

"It's after nine," said Jake. "What are you still doing here?"

David rubbed his eyes and looked around. "I _was_ sleeping. I didn't get any last night because of your sleep-yelling. And what are you doing here?"

Jake approached. "I came to get you. We're going to see Marvin. He called me an hour ago. He's got the file."

David got up and started packing up his briefcase. "Thank God."

"You were into that kiss last night," said Jake, and David froze. He closed his eyes and clutched at his briefcase. "I wasn't into it, Jake, and I don't really want to talk about this right now."

"You didn't expect that to happen, did you?" said Jake.

David looked down as he continued to pack up. "Where are we meeting Marvin?" he asked.

"You're lonely," Jake said. "I know what desperation is, and last night you were kissing me back like you were desperate for something." He moved in front of David and gripped his shoulders. "It felt good to be needed like that," he whispered, and David's eyes widened. "Olivia acts like she doesn't need me anymore and it kills me. But you… you need me right now, don't you?"

David tried to push Jake off. "I'm not talking about this."

"Don't yell," Jake said, knowing the security detail were right outside the door. He pulled a struggling David close. "Tell me you need me."

Jake was stronger than David, who tried and failed to extricate himself from Jake's hold. "Holy hell, will you get off?!"

"When's the last time Abby kissed you? Touched you?"

"Let me go," David said again, and this time he sounded weaker. "Please."

"You can't remember, can you?"

David stopped and went still. The anguished look on his face answered Jake's question.

"You can't remember," Jake said. "Because you didn't think your last time with her would be your last time. By then, you had been together for so long, you didn't take things in, you didn't savor your moments anymore. I know what that's like. You loved her so much and when she left, you tried not to think about her, because it hurt too much. But now you find you can't remember certain things." He leaned his forehead up against David's, and David tried to pull away.

"You want to remember but you can't," said Jake.

"Why?" David asked, his voice faltering. "Why are you saying this to me? Do you like reminding me of how miserable I am? Is this some sick thing that gets you off?! My God, Jake, just jet me go and leave me alone!" He kept trying to pull away but Jake wouldn't let him go.

"You're upset because I'm telling the truth," Jake said calmly, and David gritted his teeth and continued to struggle against Jake's hold. "Rosen, everything I just said I'm experiencing myself. I miss Liv like you miss Abby. Tell me if I'm wrong."

David stared past Jake's shoulder, refusing to make eye-contact.

"We need them," said Jake. "But they don't want us right now. And we both can't stand being alone. You hide it well, but you can't be alone. I saw that when I was watching you."

David slowly shook his head no.

"Tell me you need me," Jake coaxed. David refused to reply, so Jake kept talking. "It's okay to like the things I do to you," he said. "It doesn't make you disloyal to Abby in any way."

David swallowed hard and looked away. "Stop talking."

"You're not a good liar," said Jake. "I studied you, I know you. I know when you like something. I also know when you're scared. You're scared right now, but you're not scared of me. You're scared because you like this and you're afraid it'll hurt Abby if she ever finds out."

David tried to push away one more time before giving up. Jake was too strong. "Why do you care?" he asked quietly. "I'm doing what I agreed to do, isn't that enough? Why do you need to know if I like it or not?"

"Because that means I'm not the only one who's lonely right now." Jake sighed. "It means I can empathize with another human being, and for once I feel normal. You know me, Rosen. You know I'm not very good at being normal. So when something comes along that makes me feel normal, I'm not going to let it go." He looked at David with sympathy then. "Abby made you feel good, but now she isn't here."

Jake's gentleness was unnerving David. "Stop looking at me like that," he said. "I'm not like you at all."

"So you say," Jake said. "Look, I'm not Abby, and you're not Liv, but we can still have fun together. I don't know how long it'll take to get Liv back, but we can enjoy each other in the meantime," he promised. "I can do things that will make you forget how to spell Abby's name."

"Says the spider to the fly," said David weakly.

"It's not like that," said Jake softly. He leaned in and gently kissed David then. He felt David resist at first but then the other man tightly clutched at Jake's jacket and kissed him back.

When Jake pulled away, David softly gasped.

"Do you need me?" Jake asked.

"Don't make me say it," David begged.

Jake lightly kissed David again, and when he broke away he softly said, "Say it."

David's heart was racing, and he felt overheated. He hated himself for letting Jake have such an effect on him. When he finally looked up and made eye contact with Jake, he was hoping to see what he usually saw: The trained B6-13 killer. The Jake who wasn't hesitant about using physical force to get what he wanted. The Jake who, at best, was mildly civil to him on one of his better days. David knew seeing that person would give him the strength to tell Jake he didn't want or need him. But this time he didn't see a nightmare. He saw someone who understood him. Someone who wanted him.

"Stop hiding him," said David, frowning. "You're hiding him right now, I know you are. The Jake who threatens me. The Jake who hurts me. I don't see him right now, but I know he's there. You're just hiding him because you're trying to get me to do what you want."

"You know, Rosen, did you ever think that maybe he's not the one I've been hiding," said Jake. "I couldn't get missions done with Nice Jake. Nice Jake can't kill targets. Nice Jake had to stay locked up for a long time. But when I let him out, he's real. He's genuine. He won't hurt you." Jake rubbed his hand up and down David's side. "He just wants to have fun."

David felt an inner thrill course through him when Jake touched him like that, and he silently berated himself for it. He knew this was only temporary, and David couldn't predict what would happen in the future. He would be getting Leo's B6-13 file in a matter of hours, but he didn't know when Jake's plan to get Olivia back would be complete. His and Jake's arrangement could last for a few weeks or maybe just one more day. David knew Jake was scary, and he experienced firsthand some of the terrifying things he was capable of. But right then, Jake was making David want him very badly. He was being warm and nice, and it had been so long since he had been with someone like that. Someone who wanted him. "I need you, Jake," he whispered, even though he had a strong feeling he would regret those words later.

Jake gently pushed David against the wall. "Finally," he said murmured.

A polite knock at the door made the both of them pause. Jake quietly swore and let go of David so he could answer it.

As soon as he tugged at the handle, the door flew open, and David immediately backed away, hands in the air, looking terrified.

"Hey fellas," said Charlie, as he strode in, gun drawn. "Long time no see." Behind him, the security detail posing as DOJ employees were all laying on the floor.

Jake swiftly drew his own gun and aimed it at Charlie. "What do you want?" he asked, his voice cool and calm.

"Oh, nothing much," said Charlie, sounding chipper and friendly. "Just wanted to know if you heard from Marvin lately? Oh wait, you cant. Because he's dead."


	8. Chapter 8

"Dead?" David exclaimed. "Marvin's dead?!"

Charlie ignored David and kept his eyes trained on Jake and his weapon. "It's easier if I take you there," he said, and then put away his gun.

Jake studied Charlie for a few moments before deeming it safe to lower his own gun. "Where?" he asked, moving closer to David.

"Close to Garfield Heights."

Charlie walked back out of the office, and Jake followed. David trailed behind, and when he saw the dead bodies outside his door he gasped in shock and gripped the doorway. "Oh God…"

Charlie looked over his shoulder and shrugged. "What? They wouldn't let me in. And when I got a little pushy, they all pulled out guns. Don't worry, we'll come back and clean up later."

David blanched. "They had _guns_?"

"I know, right? Crazy!" said Charlie, and then started whistling as he casually stepped around the bodies. "Let's go, we're burning moonlight."

* * *

The area around the van was still cordoned off by police tape.

Jake and David both slowed down when they got a glimpse of the van. A coroner van pulled away from the curb and drove off.

Up ahead, Marvin's van, or what was left of it, was completely charred on the inside and out.

Jake looked around the neighborhood. The dwellings on either side of them were old and decrepit. It was a place where people closed their curtains on crime, and the police were never a welcome sight. If anybody saw anything, it was guaranteed they would keep it to themselves.

Charlie suddenly stepped in front of them. "So," he said, clapping his hands together, sounding business-like. "Here's what's going to happen. You two are going to find out who killed my scraggly, snaggletoothed friend. And if you succeed, I'll give you Leo Burgen's file."

David's eyes lit up. "You have the file?" he asked. "It wasn't destroyed?"

"Nope. I handed it off to Marvin and walked away. I was a few blocks away when I heard the shot. I ran back and saw a bullet between his eyes. So I reached back in and grabbed the file out of his dead hands and ran off. And then I heard something smash through one of the windows, and I turned around just in time to see the old tin can lit up like the Times Square Christmas tree."

"Maltov cocktail," said Jake.

"Obviously," said Charlie. "And you can tell the neighborhood isn't that great, so fire and police took their sweet time getting here. Marvin was already a charred, unrecognizable mass by then."

David visibly cringed at Charlie's description.

Jake was looking at the scene, but his mind was elsewhere. There was an ominous feel to the air, as if a storm was on the horizon. "Somebody's watching us," he said.

"Who?" David asked nervously, as he studied Marvin's destroyed van.

"That's up to you two to figure out," said Charlie. "Find out who killed Marvin, and you get your precious file."

"That's what I don't get," said David skeptically. He had never been a big fan of Charlie to begin with. "Why did you grab it? Why didn't you run like hell after you saw the bullet hole in Marvin's head?"

"Marvin was my friend. So I want to know who killed him. In our line of work, we don't make a lot of friends."

David groaned. "Yeah, yeah, I know, I know," he said. "You big, bad B6-13ers can't make friends or have real relationships with people. I've heard it a million times already, I get it."

"With that being said," continued Charlie. "I don't have time to drive around in the Mystery Machine all day with Scooby and the Gang. So you two lucky winners get to do it for me."

David stepped closer to the van to get a closer look and grimaced when the strong smell of burned-vehicle and flesh hit him. "This is bad."

"I know." Jake looked around at the neighboring houses, and saw a few curtains suddenly draw shut. "We need to watch our backs, Rosen."

David walked around the remains of the van and stared in at the blackened innards. "Everything's destroyed."

"Fire kind of does that," said Charlie flatly. "So, back to Justice for body clean up?"

"In a minute," said Jake, and he pulled out his phone and started to walk off. "I have to make a call."

Charlie sighed and then glanced over at David, who was still studying the van. He slowly walked over until he was out of Jake's earshot. "So what's the deal?" he asked, and jerked a thumb towards Jake. "You and Ballard are buddies now?"

David ignored Charlie. He was too busy feeling guilty for making sarcastic jokes about Marvin the night before.

"Hello? Rosen?"

David finally looked up at Charlie with a frown. "We're working on something," he said tersely, and stepped away from the scene and sat down on the curb.

Charlie shrugged. "Whatever. I'll meet you back at Justice."

When David heard Jake coming back he looked up. "What should we do?"

Jake slid his phone into his pocket, looking grim. "We need to look at Leo."

"Leo?!" said David incredulously. "No way. Look, I know it's his file and all, and believe me, I would love to nail the slime-ball for something. But I don't think he's capable of...this."

Jake sat down next to David. "You," he said. "Are a lousy judge of character. You think I'm a good guy when I've killed three people in front of you. You can never know what someone is truly capable of, Rosen. Everybody has a price. The cost of what it would take for them to do something evil. This file could be Leo's price. What if he's a danger to others? To Abby?"

Still looking doubtful, David thought it over. "Okay," he conceded. "I don't think it will go anywhere, but I'll look into him first thing tomorrow morning. For Abby."

They then got up and made their way back to David's car.

As he drove, David kept nervously tapping his steering wheel. "This is going to hurt her," he said sadly. "If Leo's really behind this, it'll kill her."

"You have to do what you have to do," replied Jake. "Besides, Abby won't want to date a murderer. This'll just push her back to you."

"But it'll still hurt her," said David quietly.

When they parked and got out, Charlie was waiting for them outside the Justice Department. "So… about clean up," he said, sounding uneasy.

Jake, sensing something was wrong, drew his weapon and hurried past Charlie before he could finish talking. He entered the building and when he got to David's office, he noticed the bodies that had been laying there when they left were gone.

"Yeah…somebody cleaned up for us," said Charlie, following Jake.

"What the hell?" whispered David, looking around at the pristine floors and desks. "We weren't even gone that long."

Jake suddenly climbed on a desk and examined high bookshelves and potted plants.

Charlie went over to the opposite side of the room and copied Jake.

David however, was clueless. "What are you two doing?"

As if to answer David's question, Charlie suddenly pulled a book of a shelf and held it up with the spine facing outwards. He pointed out the tiny, concealed camera in the middle of the spine. "Smile," he said. "Because we're all on candid camera."

* * *

"You're fine," said Jake soothingly. He was back at the apartment and currently trying to calm a very anxious David down. "We did a sweep of your entire reception and office. There were no other cameras."

Jake's words did nothing to assure David, who was pacing around his living room in a state of panic.

"What if they were there before the Morbid Merry Maids swung by and cleaned up the bodies?! Jake, in my office, we were-"

"I know," said Jake abruptly. "Rosen, I checked under every little nook and cranny where somebody could hide a camera in your office, and I found nothing disturbed or out of place."

David didn't look convinced. "If anyone saw..."

"Nobody saw us." Jake was lounging on David's couch, watching him pace back and forth. "Come here," he said softly.

"No. I'm not in the mood."

"Rosen."

David sighed with resignation. He went over to Jake and let him pull him down. He moved around so he was leaning back against Jake's chest. He looked upwards at the ceiling but he was really visualizing all of the worst case scenarios that could happen if anybody found out about him and Jake. "If someone did see something, I'm done. They'll jump at the chance to go public, and then this little agreement we have will also spill out into the open. So I'll be done. Both career-wise and Abby-wise."

"Uh-huh," said Jake, as he rubbed his hand up and down David's chest.

"I'm getting the sense you're not grasping the seriousness of all this."

"Rosen, calm down. Nobody's finding out anything. We're fine."

David snorted derisively. "Yeah, you say that now. But what about Liv? If she finds out she'll be looking at you funny for a long time."

"We're fine," assured Jake. He then pulled a folded up piece of paper of his pocket and handed it to David.

"What's this?"

"Contract negotiation time," said Jake, his voice low and soft. "Now that you actually want me, I want to revisit a few sections."

"No. I'm not into those things and you know I can't go that far with you."

"Really? Because I read an excerpt from a fantastic book that was sadly never published. It's too bad, really. Chapter Seven was my favorite. Doctor David Rosen has a nice ring to it."

David rapidly flipped over so he was facing Jake, and all the color had drained from his face. "How do you know about Kinky Sue's book?!"

"I found the manuscript."

David looked like he just saw a ghost. "Where?" he asked shakily.

"Huck was keeping it."

"He would!" said David, suddenly indignant. "Freak."

"I don't think he's the freak around here. I mean, I had no idea you liked being slapped around so much."

David held up his index finger. "Stop talking," he demanded.

Jake leaned back as if in deep thought. "I believe they call it masochism?"

"Jake!"

"Kind of explains why you always resisted at first whenever I told you to do something. I bet it turned you on whenever I roughed you up a bit, didn't it?"

David angrily got up and left without a word.

Jake waited and sure enough he heard the bedroom door slam. When it was obvious David wasn't coming back out any time soon, he grabbed his laptop.

* * *

David lay in bed, fuming. He hated how Jake always seemed to find things out about him.

His phone suddenly glowed and buzzed on the nightstand, and he grabbed it, wondering who was contacting him so late.

Abby:_ "Hey."_

David propped himself up and typed out a reply. "_Hey, what going on?"_ Something must be wrong for her to suddenly text him in the middle of the night.

Abby:_ "David, I'm so sorry."_

David frowned._ "For what?" _

Abby:_ "I meant to email some pictures to Leo, but I accidentally sent them to you… whatever you do, don't open them, okay?"_

David:_ "Sure."_

David put his phone down and laid back down. But then curiosity got the better of him and he snatched it back again and opened his email. He saw the email with the pictures. He knew it would be wrong to open them.

But he did.

The pictures were of Abby and Leo. David couldn't get past the first few before he closed out of his email. It felt as if the scar left over from their break up was suddenly ripped open again. Fresh pain and resentment rose to the surface. That should be him with her in those pictures, not Leo.

* * *

Jake had been listening intently for over an hour, but it looked like David wasn't going to come out of his bedroom. He guessed the pictures might have been too much. It was convenient that Abby saved all her pictures to her computer. It only took Jake a few minutes to access them, send an email to David from her account, and then disguise his phone number as hers.

But then he heard David's door creak open, and perked up.

David slowly ambled into the living room, looking dismal. "Good, you're still up," he said quietly. "I have to talk to you."

It took a lot of will power for Jake to resist the urge to grin. "Is everything okay?" he asked, keeping his voice soft and cordial.

David walked over. "You win." He handed Jake the pile of papers in his hand. "I give up. I guess I'm more like you than I wanted to admit. I'm willing to try a few things with you. So you win, Jake."

"This is the contract," said Jake, and he flipped through the pages. "Is this what you were doing in there?"

David lowered himself into Jake's lap. "Yeah, I was making some revisions," he said quietly. "I circled everything I like."

"What made you change your mind?"

"I don't want to talk about it."

Jake pulled David closer. "You came to me though. So I think that means you want me to do something about it."

"I saw something that hurt," explained David. "And I want to forget it. Can you make me forget?" He whispered, not even trying to hide the desperation in his voice. "Please."

Jake knew he won then. He had successfully turned the tables, with David being the desperate one needing affection. Triumphant, he smoothly whispered back, "Of course I can."


	9. Chapter 9

Author's Note

I know we're not supposed to do these, but I just wanted to say a big "Thank You" to everybody who's read and reviewed my fic so far! You guys are fantastic! I didn't expect anyone to have any interest in this story, so you amazing people were a delightful surprise!

* * *

"Why are we going to your apartment?" David asked.

"You told me you wanted me to make you forget," said Jake, as he pulled David along.

It was lunch hour and the roads and streets were busy, and David self-consciously tugged his hand away from Jake and checked his phone. "I have less than an hour to be back at Justice."

"This won't take long," said Jake. He led the way into his apartment building and up to his door. David crossed his arms and watched as Jake put the key in the lock.

"Does this have anything to do with you being totally MIA for the past two days?" David asked, as he followed Jake inside. "Kind of rude, considering I finally caved and revised our contract."

Jake said nothing as he walked down the hall.

"You know, you have a really bad habit of ignoring practically everything I say."

Jake suddenly stopped in front of a door and turned around. "I heard you. And yes, this is why I've been away for a few days. I was putting something together for you."

David cocked his head. "For me?" he asked quietly, and started to anxiously toy with his sleeve. Jake sounded downright cryptic, and that was making him nervous.

"Yes." Jake's hand was on the doorknob but he wasn't turning it. He was looking at David very seriously. "Like I said, I made this little place for you, because you've been nice to me, and you've been very receptive to me. You're taking my withdrawal from Liv away, so I wanted to do something nice for you in return." He slowly turned the knob and pushed the door open. "If this place won't make you forget Abby, nothing will."

What David saw made his eyes widen and he put his hand over his mouth.

Inside, there were bondage restraints and various tools of punishment.

David backed up against the wall, and Jake frowned, looking concerned. "How many?" David asked weakly. "How many people have you been with who were into this?"

Jake went over and stood beside David. "Just Two. You and another guy." He ran a hand through his hair. "Did I go overboard? You look terrified."

David stared straight ahead into the room, breathing heavily. "Jake… I occasionally do these things, and I like them, but… this is too much." He eyed the equipment and shivered. "Oh God, it's just like the scene from that crappy movie that came out a few months ago. "

"You're scared," Jake said. "It's because I torture people for a living, and the idea of letting me do these things to you terrifies you, doesn't it?"

David visibly cringed, confirming Jake's statement. "You have to trust me," Jake said. "I won't hurt you, Rosen. This room isn't a torture chamber. It has everything you said you liked in it." He handed David a paper. "Here. If you want to come here again, fill this out. Write down your limits. This room is a place where you call the shots. You make the rules. You are always in charge. I will never do anything without your consent. You tell me to stop, I stop."

David took the paper and looked down at it, grateful for an excuse to not have to look up and make eye contact with Jake.

Jake shut the door. "We won't go back in there unless you want to. And if you do want to, then you have to write down your limits, full disclosure."

David didn't say anything. He stood rooted to the spot, eyes locked on the paper, gripping it so tightly it was making a rough crinkling sound.

Jake knew he wasn't good at being comforting, but he felt the urge to put a hand on David's shoulder. "I can close this door and you'll never have to see it again," he said gently. "But if you want to, it's there."

David pulled away from Jake and walked away. He sat down in the living room, looking like he was going to be sick.

Jake hung back in the hallway feeling frustrated. He hadn't thought David would have such a negative reaction to the room, considering his chapter in Kinky Sue's book. Out of everyone Jake had been with, David and Olivia proved to be the most fun. Neither one immediately gave in, and Jake liked that he had to work to make them admit they needed him. He liked making people in power submit to him. According to Chapter Seven in Kinky Sue's book, The Doctor, despite his dignified and standoffish attitude, was actually very submissive in the bedroom. Jake felt like he struck gold when he read that.

After a little while, David looked calmer, and he was reading over the paper when Jake sat down beside him and handed him a glass of water.

David took the glass without taking his eyes off the paper.

Jake sighed and leaned back. "I guess the room was too much. Finish your water and I'll take you back to Justice."

David put the glass down and ran his hand up his face and pinched the bridge of his nose. After a long moment of silence, he let out a long sigh. "Get me a pen," he muttered.

Jake sat up, surprised. "Rosen…"

"I want a pen," repeated David. "I'll try this," he said quietly. "But if I say stop, you stop, okay?"

"Of course," said Jake sincerely.

* * *

"Well, I think she's hiding something," said Quinn, looking over Jake's shoulder. She was trying to assess the honesty of OPA's current client, Dr. Emily Prindle, who was being accused of writing illegal prescriptions to feed her alleged addiction to hydrocodone.

It had been three weeks since Jake had shown David the room. He currently had Dr. Prindle's financials up on his computer screen. There were a few unexplained large balances recently deposited in Dr. Prindle's personal bank account. "We'll have to see what Liv thinks," said Jake.

Huck was already getting up. "I'll dig deeper. We can't go to Liv with nothing."

Quinn looked up when she heard Olivia walking through the front door. "Well, I'm going to ask her right now," she said, and got up. "This lady has something hiding in her closet, I can feel it."

Jake looked back at his screen, wondering if Quinn was right.

"Jake."

Jake looked up and Olivia was standing in his doorway. "My office. Now." she said curtly.

Jake got up without hesitation and followed Olivia. He was expecting Huck and Quinn to follow in behind him, but Olivia waited at the door and slammed it shut after he walked in. Jake sensed something was very wrong. "What's going on?" he asked.

Olivia sat down and glared up at Jake. "You tell me," she said steadily.

Jake frowned in confusion. "What are you talking about?"

Looking as if she could kill, Olivia leaned forward, looking up at Jake with hard, steely eyes. "Winchester."

Jake was hardly ever surprised or shocked, but when Olivia said "Winchester," he felt his whole body ice over.

"You didn't think I knew, did you?" she asked coldly. "In fact, I've known about Project Winchester for a long time. Because he tells me everything."

"Liv, I–,"

"Shut up. Who do you think you are?" she demanded. "More importantly, who, or what do you think I am?! I am a person! I am not some plaything you can blackmail him into giving back!"

"You know I don't think of you like that."

"I made my choice," said Olivia. "I gave you the choice to either accept it and be a part of my life, or go away. It looks like you chose to not accept my choice, Jake."

She got up and yanked her door open. "You need to go back to your office and pack your things."

"Liv!"

"Go!" she yelled, and pointed out the doorway. "You're done!"

* * *

"Mr. Rosen."

David looked up. "Mrs. Barnes," he said, trying to keep the distaste out of his voice. JoAnne Barnes was one of his older interns. One of the ladies who decided she didn't like being retired and wanted to go back to work. Which David didn't mind, but Mrs. Barnes was also a raging, hellfire and brimstone Christian to the core. And a couple times a week, Mrs. Barnes always tried to convince David to reject his Jewish heritage and convert to Christianity.

"What can I do for you today?" David asked, hoping he sounded civil.

"I found a few more Bible verses I thought you should hear."

David smiled politely. "I would love to hear your weekly rant about why I should convert to Christianity, but I'm very tired and I also have a lot of work to do. I pulled an all-nighter last night, actually."

"Doing what?"

David was about to give his usual bland response of "doing work," but then he had a better idea.

"Well," he said. "I spent most of the night having torrid rounds of sex with my secret boyfriend who's also a prolific assassin in his spare time."

Looking scandalized, Mrs. Barnes went red in the face with indignation. "Don't joke about that kind of filth, Mr. Rosen," she said angrily.

"Oh, I was very bad last night," David continued. "I had to be punished. Hard."

Mrs. Barnes turned an even brighter shade of red. "Mr. Rosen, stop acting ridiculous!"

"Did you know paddles with holes in them hurt really, really badly?"

"Mr. Rosen, I will not be made a fool of!"

David leaned forward. "I'm actually having trouble sitting down today."

Mrs. Barnes suddenly about-faced and stomped out of David's office.

Alyssa walked in as JoAnne walked past her in a huff. "What did you say to _her_?" she asked David.

David shrugged, looking smug. "Something that will make her never step foot in here again."

"You mean the "torrid rounds of sex" with your secret assassin boyfriend who likes to spank you?"

David froze. "You heard that?"

"Yep." Alyssa leaned in then and grinned. "So you _are_ getting boinked and having some fun!"

"I just said that so JoAnne would leave me alone."

"No, no, I don't think you did," said Alyssa as she wagged a finger at David. "I think you were telling the truth!"

David cleared his throat. "What exactly did you come here for?"

Alyssa sat down. "I just wanted to see how things were going with you and Jake. So… how do you feel about Ging now? I mean, it's been a few weeks since you and Jake started your…_thang_."

"Exactly the same. I still want her back, you know that."

"Really?" Alyssa asked, sounding skeptical. "You haven't developed any kinds of feelings for Captain Gorgeous."

"Don't call him that. And no."

"I saw you guys, you know. About a week ago. You were leaving this place together. I'm dating one of your cute interns, by the way, so that's why I was here."

David nodded. "Yeah, I remember. Jake stopped by with some information." He didn't want to say too much, because the "information" Jake had was surveillance footage of Leo Burgen leaving what looked like a secret meeting.

"So anyway, like I said, I saw you guys leave together last week," said Alyssa.

David sensed there was something more Alyssa wanted to say. "And?"

She looked away. "I saw the way you were looking at him, David. It wasn't for very long, just a second or two, and I don't think you were even aware of it. But you were kind of looking at him the way you used to look at Ging when you guys first got together. You were smiling, and… you looked genuinely happy to be with him."

David frowned. He glanced down at his desk. "It doesn't mean anything," he said quietly. "You're just being nosy, and you're reading too much into this because you're bored and need something to do."

David's cold tone made Alyssa feel like she'd been slapped. "David…"

"Get out of here."

Alyssa swallowed hard and had no choice but to turn and go, but she stopped in the doorway. "You know… you're not a good guy. I just wanted to help you, because I thought you were my friend. But good guys don't talk to their friends like that. You can't just tell people to leave when they say things you don't want to hear," she said

David didn't reply.

"Hey."

"What?!" David snapped but his frown disappeared when he saw Abby standing there.

"Geeze, somebody's grouchy today," she said, and David suddenly looked apologetic.

"Sorry," he said. "I thought you were someone else."

"Alyssa getting on your nerves? I saw her leaving."

"Something like that."

Abby walked in and smiled. "So… do you want to do lunch today? Leo is out of town and I'm dying for some Lo mein."

David smiled. "Sure," he said, proud of himself for not sounding too overeager. He got up and grabbed his coat.

Abby turned around and gasped when she saw Huck standing right behind her. "Huck! You scared me," she said, and put a hand over her chest. "What are you doing here?" She grew concerned. "Is Liv okay?"

"Liv's fine. I need to talk to Rosen."

David came walking up behind Abby. "Huck?"

"I need to talk to you," said Huck.

David was buttoning his coat. "Can't it wait an hour?"

"No."

Abby frowned and looked over at David and then back at Huck. "What's going on?"

David looked up and stared at Huck, who stood in front of the two of them like a statue. "I have no idea," he said. When it was apparent Huck wasn't going to move, David sighed and started taking his coat off. "Give me five minutes," he said to Abby.

"No problem," said Abby, still looking concerned and confused, but she left David's office and shut the door.

David rounded on Huck the second his door clicked shut. "I don't know what you need, but you could not have picked a worse time," he said with annoyance.

Huck stood still, expression unchanged. "Jake's missing."

David's anger disappeared instantly. "What?"

"Jake's gone. Olivia kicked him out this morning."

David felt his stomach drop. "She kicked him out? Why?" He feared the worst. Olivia had somehow found out of him and Jake.

"I don't know."

"Why are you coming to me about this?" David asked.

Huck didn't answer, and David frowned. "Why did you come to me, Huck?" David repeated, failing to sound calm. _Huck knows_, he thought nervously.

"Jake's missing and he needs help. You help people."

David sat down. "Are you sure he's in trouble? Because in my experience, Jake Ballard doesn't "go missing." He goes where he wants, does whatever he wants, and then comes back when he needs something."

Huck shook his head. "No. You don't understand. Liv is everything to Jake. Her kicking him out… that's enough to turn his mind upside down. Wherever he is, he isn't safe. Other people aren't safe. I have an idea where he might be, but I need help."

David discreetly pulled out his phone and shot a quick "Where are you?" text to Jake.

"He's not going to respond."

Fighting off the urge to tell Huck to mind his own business, David put his phone back in his pocket. "So what do we do?" he asked. "How do you know Jake isn't around town somewhere?"

"I started tracking his phone after Olivia kicked him out. He left the city right away. No stops. He ditched his phone right after he crossed the border into Pennsylvania."

"Pennsylvania?"

"There's a lot of forest up there. Jake likes the woods."

David frowned. "Do you think he's okay?" he asked sadly.

"Not for long," said Huck. "Liv kept him calm. She kept him sane. Just like she does with me. Jake likes to pretend he's not like me. He thinks he can keep himself calm, but without Liv he can't. He'll go crazy. He'll start seeking out people to kill...hikers, hunters, campers. We need to get to him before he starts doing that."

David got up and went over to his door. He opened it and poked his head out and looked at Abby apologetically. "Sorry, but we'll have to take a rain check."

"That's okay," she said with a shrug. "What does Huck need?"

"Small legal issue," said David. He glanced back at Huck, who looked positively grim. "See you later?" he asked Abby.

She nodded and walked away.

David closed the door and threw his jacket on. "Let's go, Huck."


	10. Chapter 10

David parked his car and shut it off. "I am not driving into the woods," he said to Huck.

"We need to bring Jake back."

"It's dark, we're in the middle nowhere, surrounded by trees. We're literally living the horror movie dream right now," said David, looking through his windshield at the dark, narrow road leading into the forest.

"Would you rather walk?"

David hated anything to do with being out in nature. After he and Huck had left the Justice Department, Huck had taken David to Pope and Associates and shown him how he had tracked Jake's cellphone location. The two then spent a few hours gathering supplies, since their search could possibly go on for days if Jake decided to stay on the move. It was early evening when they both finally left D.C.

At the moment it was pitch-black outside, and David was distastefully looking at the path that would lead them deeper into a Pennsylvania forest. He thought the woods at nighttime looked positively ghastly. But Huck insisted they had to get to Jake as soon as possible.

David tightly gripped the steering wheel and closed his eyes. "No, I don't want to walk," he answered sullenly.

Huck looked straight ahead. "Then we have to drive."

"At least tell me you brought a gun," said David, as he fired up the ignition. "Because if we run into an axe-murderer..."

"I have a gun."

David glanced over at Huck and then back at the road. "I hate nature… especially in the dark," he said glumly.

The car lurched forward and stones and twigs crackled under the tires. As David drove, he nervously glanced at the walls of tall trees on each side of them. "And you're sure Jake's in here somewhere?" he asked uneasily.

"Yes. He was on this road right before he ditched his phone."

They drove further into the woods for about fifteen minutes when the road stopped at a dead end. David and Huck both recognized Jake's car parked off to the side.

"Great. Now what?" said David.

Huck opened the door. "Looks like we'll have to walk anyway."

Resisting the urge to groan, David shut the car off and got out. "How far?"

Huck was already inspecting the area around Jake's car and didn't answer.

"Or just ignore me," said David sarcastically, and he pulled out his phone. He frowned. No signal. A nearby whip-poor-whil suddenly sang out, making David jump. He thought about the possibility of bigger, scarier wildlife showing up, like a bear or mountain lion, and quickly hurried over to Huck. He nervously looked behind himself again before turning towards Huck, who was still digging around the leaves next to Jake's car. "What are you doing?" he asked.

Huck held up a finger for a second and then continued to dig around the leaves on the ground until he found what he was looking for. He got up then and showed David a damaged phone.

"It's Jake's," said David grimly.

Huck nodded and was already inspecting the phone. "Yeah." He turned it over in his hands. "He ran over it. And he probably took out the SIM card and destroyed that too." He handed David the phone and started walking into the forest. "Let's go."

David scurried after him, wanting to stay close. As they walked, he thought about Jake's logic, and it didn't make sense. "Huck, why didn't he just ditch the phone before he even left? Why take it all the way here when he knew he could be tracked?"

Huck kept moving forward, pausing every once in a while to either inspect the ground or a nearby tree. "Because he wanted to be found," he answered.

David thought that over as he carefully stepped around logs and rocks on the ground. When he realized why Jake had done what he did, David felt a rush of empathy for him. "He wanted Olivia to realize he was missing and come looking for him," he said quietly.

Huck walked ahead silently while David talked, listening but not responding. He was focused on tracking Jake's movements through the forest.

David was holding Jake's broken cellphone in his hands, and he rubbed his thumb across the cracked screen. He knew what it felt like to want someone he loved to care about him. "That's very sad," he said softly.

Huck suddenly stopped and whipped around. "No," he said heatedly, and David backed away a few paces, startled by Huck's instant change of demeanor.

"No!" repeated Huck. "It's not sad. It's manipulative. She chose someone else and he can't accept it, so he keeps trying to manipulate her. It's not sad, Rosen!" He turned around then. "He needs to leave Liv alone."

David looked at the phone and then back at Huck. He started walking again, deciding to keep quiet from then on. Huck's words were making him feel guilty about his own scheme to get Abby back. He looked down at Jake's phone again, watching it reflect the moonlight, and felt another wave of guilt. Over the past few weeks, he had formed a bond with Jake, and was sorry he viewed this entire trip as just an inconvenience up until that point.

"Rejection's hard," said David. "Cut Jake a little slack." Huck remained quiet, and David ducked under a low-hanging tree branch and grimaced when he touched the tree trunk and his hand came away sticky with sap.

"I'm only here to make sure Jake doesn't hurt other people," said Huck. "He's not my friend, because my only friend is Olivia Pope, and if he can't leave Olivia Pope alone, then he becomes my enemy. Is that clear?" he asked, turning around to face David again.

David stopped again and tightly gripped Jake's phone. "Why are you telling me this?" he asked quietly.

Huck got closer to David, who took a step back. "Because I know you and Jake are together."

David felt time stop. He paled and his eyes widened. "You…you don't know what you're talking about," he stammered.

"I knew something was up when you left Jake's office that one day," said Huck. "After that, Jake was calmer, more normal. He was giving Liv space and focusing on cases. I got curious and followed him a few times. Every time he always went to either your office or your apartment. I know what Jake is, I know how he operates. He promised you something, didn't he? Money. Secrets. Whatever it was, it was enough to reel you in. You didn't seem to be depressed or scared, so I figured Jake was making you happy too. That's why I came to you after Liv kicked him out. Jake will go crazy without her and he'll hurt other people because he'll be out of his mind… unless he has someone else, and that someone else is you."

Huck abruptly turned around and started walking again, leaving David standing there, stunned.

When he was able to collect his thoughts, David tore after Huck, not wanting to believe his and Jake's secret arrangement wasn't a secret anymore. "Who else knows?!" he demanded.

"I didn't tell anyone," said Huck. "Especially not Liv. This is good for her. Jake was leaving her alone. She was happy. I want her to be happy, so I'm not going to say anything."

David calmed down a little. "Is that a promise?"

"Yes."

Feeling a little better, David felt his blood pressure gradually go down. "Thank you," he said, but his mind was still racing. If Huck could tell something was going on, who else could figure it out?

The two walked in silence for a while, until they could make out a small cabin up ahead. It looked old and abandoned.

"Is that it?" David asked, and Huck nodded. He shivered and followed Huck as he carefully and slowly walked towards the cabin.

The both froze when they heard the unmistakable sharp clicking sound of a shotgun slide being racked. David immediately threw his hands up.

Huck held up his hands too. "Take it easy, Jake. It's just me and Rosen," he called out.

"What do you want?" said Jake, the sound of his voice coming from inside the cabin.

"You need to come back with us," said Huck, and he took another step forward.

"I want Liv," Jake demanded.

"She's not here," countered Huck. "She isn't coming."

"Then go away."

Jake's voice sounded wild and dangerous. David stepped forward. "We can't do that," he said shakily, and flinched when he heard a sharp scraping sound.

"He just pulled the gun away from the window," said Huck to David. He watched as Jake slammed the window down.

The two of them stood outside in total silence for a while and David slowly lowered his arms. "What do we do now?" he asked quietly. "I don't think he's coming out."

Huck eyed the cabin and looked over at David. "I don't know."

David racked his brain and could only think of one solution that wouldn't hurt Jake. He sucked in a breath and said a quiet prayer. He knew what he had to do. He started to carefully walk towards the cabin.

The window slid up. "Leave, Rosen."

David winced at the sound of Jake's voice and stopped. "Jake… you know I don't have anything on me. Let me in, okay? Please?"

The window abruptly closed.

David waited a minute and continued his gradual approach, eventually making it up to the front door. "I'm coming in," he announced, hoping he didn't sound as terrified as he was. But before he could put his hand on the door, it flew open.

"Oh my God!" David cried out in alarm and threw his hands up again and squeezed his eyes shut. When nothing happened, he opened his eyes and saw nothing but blackness through the doorway of the cabin. He looked back at Huck for reassurance, and Huck nodded. David let out a shaky breath as he looked back into the cabin's dark abyss and slowly stepped inside. He couldn't see anything. "Jake?" he said quietly.

The door behind him slammed shut, making him cry out in fear and gripped his head in his hands. "Jake, stop doing that!" he begged. "You're scaring me right now, and I'm just trying to help you! Please stop it!"

He felt movement to his right and moved quickly to his left. "Jake, stop!" he repeated.

David felt pure fear coursing through his body and was about to make a run for the door, when he heard shuffling in a corner. A lamp clicked on, flooding the cabin with dim light. Knowing he was no longer in the dark, David slowly raised his head opened his eyes. Jake was sitting on the floor in the corner, glaring up at him. "_My God he looks feral_," David thought. Jake's eyes were filled with a wild anger, and his clothes were dirty and torn in places. There were dark reddish-brown blotches all over his clothes and hands. When David saw those he put a hand over his mouth and recoiled.

"I killed a deer," said Jake, knowing what David was thinking. "It's out back if you don't believe me."

David looked out the back window and did indeed see the bloody carcass of a dead deer laying on the ground, as well as the remnants of a fire and a man-made cooking grate.

"I got hungry," said Jake. "I haven't had deer meat in a while."

David swallowed hard and looked around the cabin. The furnishings were old and sparse. He didn't know what to do, and the only thing he could think of was to awkwardly hand Jake his cellphone back. "Huck found it."

Jake grabbed it and tossed it into a corner. "You shouldn't have come here," he said. "I'm not going back, so you wasted your time. Go home."

Jake's casual dismissal replaced David's fear with anger. "No," he said cooly. "You need to get over this. I drove with Huck for three and a half hours and then walked here, through the woods, in the dark, because you needed help! The only person you have right now is me. You don't have Olivia. She isn't here, and she'll never come here! You're just going to have to deal with that."

Jake looked up, furious. "Shut the hell up," he said, his voice dangerously low.

"No, I won't," said David stubbornly. "I'm sorry she kicked you out for whatever reason, but you could have come to me. You didn't have to run off into the damn wilderness. I thought that's what the contract was for." David looked down then. "We need each other until we can get them back right? So when you need help, come to me! Don't do something like this."

"We're temporary, Rosen," said Jake coldly. "You know that, don't you?"

David sat down beside Jake on the old, wooden floor. "I know. But right now you need help and I'm the only one who can give it to you." He looked around the dilapidated space. "This is just…I don't know, but I don't like it."

Jake studied the wall, not wanting to look at David. "Because it reminds you of how scary I can be," he answered quietly.

David sighed. "Yeah." He leaned against Jake then. "I'm sorry," he said sadly. "I should have realized something was wrong… I should have called you more during the day instead of just expecting you to show up like you always do. Maybe then Huck wouldn't have had to tell me. I'm a crappy secret lover, aren't I?"

Jake tried to remain angry, but David's last sentence made some of his pent up anger go away. He turned and looked at David, who looked scared, tired, and close to his breaking point. Jake felt David's warm weight leaning against him, and he started to cool down.

"I'm not leaving until you come home," said David stubbornly.

Jake was still for a few moments and then gently pushed David off and stood up.

"Where are you going?" David asked.

Jake walked over to a crate and pulled out two beers. He sat back down next to David and gave him one. "Listen...I'm sorry I scared you," he said softly. "When Liv kicked me out I felt myself going crazy again, and I knew I needed to get away. I'm sorry I didn't tell you. But not knowing wasn't your fault." He put a hand on David's head. "I'm disappointed she didn't come... but I'm glad you did."

Feeling relieved from his guilt, David took a long drag of his beer. "Huck knows about us."

Jake drank his own beer. "I had a feeling he might have known. What did he say?"

"He won't tell Olivia," said David. "He said she's happier this way."

"Good."

"So what made her kick you out?" David asked.

Jake snickered and took another sip. "I threatened the President."

David sputtered and almost sprayed his drink everywhere. "You threatened the_ President_?! With what?"

"Something," answered Jake, and David knew it was time to stop asking questions. He sat his drink down. "So, are you ready to get out of here?" he asked. "We could do some…_stuff _when we get back."

Jake shook his head. "I'll go with you, but I don't think doing any _stuff_ is a good idea tonight. I'm still feeling a little savage. I might end up breaking something… or you, and I don't want to take that chance."

David looked at Jake for a moment and then stood up and held out his hand. "Then let's go home and bust some furniture. I don't mind."

Jake eyed David's hand and then quietly laughed and shook his head as he grabbed David's hand and hefted himself up. "You're the biggest pain addict I've ever met… I love it."


	11. Chapter 11

David was sitting in front of Jake's laptop, not liking what he was seeing.

"There," said Jake, and he paused the video and pointed at a figure on the screen. "Right there. It's Bergen. That's him leaving Senator McAllister's residence three days ago."

The image on McAllister's front porch security camera was crystal clear, so David had no doubts the man exiting through the front door was Leo Bergen.

"What's he doing there when McAllister's locked up in Supermax?" said Jake.

David scowled. "Maybe he's just cheating on Abby with McAllister's wife," he said, sounding bitter. "He's a slimy pig, so I wouldn't put it past him."

"No, this is something bigger than that," said Jake, shaking his head. "You need to question Bergen." He motioned for David to get up and then sat down in his place. He typed rapidly onto the keyboard and after a few moments looked up at David and jabbed a finger at the screen. "Here's Bergen's browsing history. Go ahead, click on a few sites."

David leaned over and started clicking through the list of websites. He felt his stomach drop when almost all of the sites were run by radical, anti-Grant conspiracy theorists.

Jake was eyeing David with a hardened gaze. "He's behind the plot to kill the President and you know it. I bet you any amount of money he blackmailed the four senators into doing his dirty work. But the four of them tripped up and got caught. Since they didn't have any dirt on Bergen, he gets to walk around free while they've been thrown into isolated jail cells."

David eyed the last site he clicked on and bit his bottom lip. "It's going to be hard to build a case for this," he said. "We have illegally-obtained footage of him leaving McAllister's house, and illegally gained access to his browsing history. I can't use any of this."

"But the one thing that can bring Bergen down is his B6-13 file and he somehow knows it exists," said Jake. "He thinks it was destroyed in the van fire, so he's not looking for it anymore. I know he had Marvin killed. But I can't tell Charlie yet, because Leo's still free and Charlie will just go after him and kill him. So we're going to have to find a way to do this without the file."

David nodded. "I'll interview McAllister again. If he gives me anything about Leo, then I can _legally_ obtain this stuff and then go from there."

"When Bergen is safely behind bars, I'll tell Charlie and get your file. I can't imagine you'll need it though. When this gets out, Abby won't stay with him. I'll work on softening up Liv in the meantime. After Leo's been in jail for a little while, I imagine Abby will come around to you, and at the same time, Liv may be warming back up to me. This has the potential to work out perfectly for the both of us."

David gathered his things. "Okay. I'll leave right now and head over to Supermax. If McAllister can give me Leo, we're golden."

* * *

"I want to speak to my wife."

David was seated across from the former senator, John McAllister, who was wearing an orange jumpsuit and his hands were handcuffed and chained to the table.

David shook his head. "I'm afraid that's not possible, Mr. McAllister."

McAllister jerked his handcuffs in anger. "I want to talk to my wife! I'm innocent, and you have no right to hold me here!"

"I," said David steadily. "Want to talk about Leo Bergen."

McAllister blinked. "Leo?"

"_Nice poker face_," thought David. He handed McAllister a copy of his bank statement from over a year ago. "Both you and your buddy Robert Dugan paid Bergen for managing your election campaigns. How he managed to do two campaigns at once, I have no idea. But now you, Dugan, and your two other conservative buddies are being charged with conspiracy to assassinate the President of the United States while Leo's walking around outside these walls free." He leaned forward. "I have a very strong feeling Leo's behind all this and he's got dirt on you and that's why you haven't ratted him out to me. Because you know I can make your life a whole lot easier if you talk."

"None of us have anything to do with this supposed "assassination plot"!" said McAllister. "Including Leo. After he managed my campaign, he became a personal friend of mine. If you're looking for a scapegoat, Mr. Rosen, you won't find one here."

"Is Leo a personal friend of your wife's too?" asked David. "Because sources say he was spotted leaving your house a few days ago."

McAllister rolled his eyes. "I know where you're trying to go with this, and it's insulting. Andrea would never cheat on me with Leo. He must have stopped by for moral support. This hasn't exactly been easy on her, you know."

"I'll need to bring in your wife for questioning as well then," said David, and he turned around and looked at the one-way mirror, knowing someone would be getting in touch with Mrs. McAllister very shortly.

"This is absolutely ridiculous!" said McAllister indignantly. "Don't you dare drag my wife into this!"

David frowned. "I'll keep digging until I get my answers, Mr. McAllister."

Just then, the door opened and one of the FBI agents motioned for David to join him. With another glance at McAllister, David got up and left the room. "What is it?" he asked.

The agent looked uneasily at his partner before speaking. "Andrea McAllister was found dead in her and Senator McAllister's residence this morning."

David's whole body iced over. "Dead?!" he said weakly."

"Sir, her sister came to visit this morning. She saw Mrs. McAllister's car in the driveway and broke in when nobody answered. We just attempted to call her and an FBI agent picked up and filled us in."

"How long has she been dead?"

"The ME estimated she'd been dead for about three days. Said it looked like someone broke her neck."

David put a hand over his mouth. Leo visited her three days ago. He looked through the window at McAllister and then back at the agent. "This interview is over."

* * *

David was practically falling asleep at his desk. He hadn't stopped working ever since he got the news about Senator McAllister's wife. But it was pitch black outside and he needed to put his head down for five minutes.

"You ass!"

David immediately jolted upright. "What the hell?!" he cried out.

Abby was standing there, seething. "You absolute, disgusting, horrible ass! You issued an arrest warrant for Leo?!"

David held up a hand in defense. "He's connected to Dugan and McAllister, two out of the four jailbirds. He worked on both their campaigns. So yes. I'm bringing him in for questioning," he said calmly.

"Dugan, McAllister, Levy, and Leighton! All _four_ were arrested, so why aren't you bringing Levy's and Leighton's campaign managers in as well?! Or does Leo get special treatment?!" said Abby heatedly.

"Like I just said, Leo Burgen is the only campaign manager who's connected to two of them! I'm not doing this because I'm jealous, Abby! Leo left Mrs. McAllister's house three days ago. They found her this morning, dead. Turns out she was murdered exactly three days ago. I had no choice."

Abby shook her head. "No. I don't believe Leo had anything to do with this. This is personal for you."

"Abby!"

"Don't call me Abby! Only my friends get to call me by my first name, and you're not my friend, so it's Ms. Whelan to you!" She turned on her heel and stomped off.

"Abby!"

"I hate you, David," she said, stopping and looking at him with absolute contempt. "I truly hate you. Never talk to me again."

David felt anger suddenly bubble up inside him and he threw a book across the room, which knocked over a vase in the corner and shattered it.

"You okay?"

David looked up and saw Jake standing in the doorway, studying him.

"What are you doing here?" David asked, and went across the room to pick up the pieces of the vase.

"I was close by so I figured I'd go home with you."

"Okay," said David tersely. He ignored Jake and knelt down and carefully picked the sharp ceramic shards out of the carpet.

"Need help?" Jake asked.

"I'm fine."

Jake was silent as he watched David pick up pieces, knowing it was best if he kept quiet. He went over and knelt down beside David and started to help.

David momentarily paused when Jake joined him, but then returned to his task.

"You sure you're okay?" Jake asked.

David dropped the pieces into a waste bin. "Yeah." He stood up and put his overcoat on. "Let's go."

Jake sighed and got up. "I heard everything," he said quietly. "You're not okay."

David clenched his fists and whirled around. "No. I'm not!" he said angrily, and then his face suddenly fell. He put a hand over his mouth and turned his back on Jake.

"Hey," Jake said softly, and gripped David by his shoulders. "Hey, don't do that. It's okay. Don't do that."

"I can't help it!" David snapped, and wiped his eyes.

Jake pulled his phone out of his pocket and checked the time. "That Chinese place you like should still be open." He held out his hand to David. "Come on, I'll get you something to eat."

David sniffed and took Jake's hand. "Thanks," he said quietly.

"You'll be okay," Jake said kindly, and David just nodded glumly. "I've been there too… you know that firsthand. She'll get over it. She knows this is your job. You have to do what you have to do."

When David didn't say anything, Jake started leading him out of his office. "We'll get food, go home, and then I'll rock your world. How's that sound?"

David shook his head. "I don't want to go home. I want to eat somewhere else," he said.

"David, you know we can't really do that."

"It'll be private, I promise," said David. "I just don't feel like going home yet."

* * *

As they walked, Jake kept looking at the neat rows of headstones, some old, some new. "When you said "private," I didn't think you meant cemetery," he said.

David seemed to have a particular destination in mind, and walked between the headstones as if he had walked the same path many times over.

Jake followed closely behind. "You come here a lot," he commented. "When I was tracking you before I gave you the contract, I noticed you came here a couple times a week."

David said nothing, and when he reached the headstone he was looking for, he sat down in front of it and leaned back against the cold stone. "So can we eat now?"

Jake leaned forward and turned around. He took out his phone and shined the light against the headstone. "You knew Judge Henry Sparks?" he asked.

David picked at his box of noodles. "Kind of," he said quietly.

"Was he a friend?"

"No."

David was being uncharacteristically cryptic, which made Jake uneasy. He looked around and saw nothing but the backs of headstones and darkness. "Why are we here?" he asked, trying to get David to look at him. "David?"

David was quiet for a few more moments before finally raising his head, looking forlorn. "Because he's dead, and it's my fault, and I guess this is my way of apologizing." He went back to picking at his food, leaving Jake with more questions than answers.

"Didn't he kill himself?" Jake asked.

"Yeah… because of me," said David sadly. "I killed him, Jake. I wanted gun control, he wouldn't give it to me, so I blackmailed him with the dirt that was in his B6-13 file. He ended up voting yes on gun control and then shot himself in the head a few hours later."

Jake leaned back against the judge's headstone and exhaled. "Damn."

David stared off into the distance, still remembering how cold he felt when he heard the news about Sparks.

They were both quiet for a while, and Jake glanced over. "You didn't mean for that to happen," he said. "He chose to do that to himself."

David shook his head. "He wouldn't have done it if it wasn't for me."

"That part is true," Jake agreed. "But that wasn't your intention. The most you can do is apologize and move on. Be sad if you have to, cry about it, and then find a way to push the guilt away and live your life. Just don't do what he did."

David squeezed the take-out box. "I ruined that family," he said quietly. "I took a father away… a husband. They will never be the same, and it's all my fault."

Jake gently took the box out of David's hand. "If you keep squeezing it like that, you'll spill it." He leaned against David then and stared at the back of the headstone in front of them. "The innocents were always the ones that bothered me too," he said. "Everyone I killed was a target for one reason or another. They were just assignments to me. But sometimes, members of their families and their friends harmed themselves because of what I did. There was this one guy. I shot him in the back of the head a few years ago, and his adult daughter hung herself a week later." He looked down. "Those were the ones that always bothered me. The ones I didn't mean to kill."

David thought that over and leaned his head against Jake's shoulder. "Thank you." He took his take-out box back from Jake and started eating again.

Jake smiled. "You're welcome."

David felt a bit better after talking to Jake, and he smiled to himself. "You know, I understand why they did it now. Why they fixed the election so he would win."

Jake frowned and looked at David, not knowing where that suddenly came from.

"I hated everything about Fitzgerald Grant," said David. "His party, his policies, his views. But then he made me Attorney General, and I started working with him. He isn't who I thought he was. He cares about justice way more than I thought he did. When it looked like they were going to strike down gun control, he was furious. He said he didn't want some guy with an AK to shoot up a school full of kids. He wanted gun control and he didn't care if he was pissing off his own party to get it. And he made me want to get it for him. I went against my own values and beliefs to do that for him. I blackmailed a judge for him. There are few times in my life I've wanted something so badly. And it was all because of him. I notice how everyone who gets to know him ends up liking him. That's why they rigged the election, isn't it? Because he made them love him."

Jake flashed back to his time with Fitz in Supermax. "He's a good man," he said quietly. "He deserved to win and they all knew that." He remembered how his own blood tasted like iron in his mouth. "He's our rightful President."

David nodded. "Yeah. I know that now," he said. "Sometimes things aren't strictly black and white. Olivia taught me that."

"She teaches people a lot of things," said Jake affectionately.

"Yeah. If your white hat falls off it's not the end of the world... but you have to remember to put it back on." David smiled and finished the last of his dinner. "Kind of like you."

"Me?"

"You've done a lot of bad things. You bullied and choked me twice. I watched you choke Liv after storming into Pope and Associates when we took down B6-13. I'm not stupid or naïve. I knew signing that contract with you was playing with fire. I suspect you've manipulated me a few times in the past couple of weeks, and I've been too focused on getting Abby back to notice." David knew he was right when Jake looked directly at him under the moonlight and didn't deny it. "But," he continued, "I also know you want to be good. When I read those files, I realized you couldn't help doing the things you do. It's a way of life to you. And I know you don't want to be that way. You want to be a good guy. You want to be normal." He squeezed Jake's hand. "I see how you look at other people on the street. You're wishing you could be like them. You want to think like them. You want to worry about stupid things like them."

It was getting colder, and Jake tensed up. He knew David was looking at him but he didn't want to make eye contact, so he looked down.

"You don't want to be bad," said David.

Jake took David's empty box and stacked it under his. "You're right," he said quietly. "No kid wants to be me when he grows up." He felt David's hand tighten around his. "When I was little, I wanted to be a fireman."

David swallowed hard.

Jake closed his eyes. "There was something about those big red trucks that was just magical to me," he said. "When those guys showed up, people felt safe. Things were under control. They were the good guys. The heroes who put out the fires. I wanted to be those guys. I never thought I would end up being…this instead."

David could just imagine what it must have been like. At one time, Jake had been normal. No different than the other kids who wanted to be firemen and astronauts. David realized it must be torture for Jake to remember a time when he was normal, knowing he could never go back. He slowly hugged Jake then. "I'm sorry."

Jake wasn't a fan of sympathy. He stiffened and tried to push David away. "Don't pity me."

"You could still be a fireman," said David, as he tried to hold on.

When Jake heard that, his resentment vanished. He stopped trying to shove David off and went still. "Do you really believe that?" he asked.

David nodded, and then braced himself for Jake to either abruptly get up and leave or attempt to push him away again. Everything was still and silent for a few moments, and then David suddenly felt Jake tightly hugging him back as if his life depended on it.

"Thank you, David."


	12. Chapter 12

"Jake, I'm getting killed," said David glumly, as he walked back to his office with his phone pressed against his ear. "Leo's lawyer is no Olivia Pope, but he's good." He put his key in his office door. He remembered Abby waiting right outside the interrogation room, a smug smirk on her face. David remembered he heard her say something as he walked away, but he had blocked it out, not wanting to feel even more humiliated than he already was.

At the moment, he sought the solace of his quiet, peaceful office. He slid the key into the lock and opened the door. "If you're not too far away, can you meet me here? Please?" he asked.

"What do you need?"

David paused. He slowly lowered his phone and opened the door all the way. Jake was sitting in David's chair behind his desk.

"How long have you been here?" David asked.

"Not too long." Jake put his phone away. "So the interrogation isn't going well?" he asked, getting up.

David sighed and went around his desk and sat down, looking sullen. "No. He's got alibis and witnesses lined up at the ready. I'm starting to think I was right when I originally thought he had nothing to do with this. It looks like I'll have to let him go. Andrea McAllister was strangled, and we can't find a trace of Leo's DNA on her."

"But you have her home security footage of Leo leaving her house the day she was killed," said Jake.

David shook his head, looked completely defeated. "That doesn't necessarily prove he killed her. He says he was visiting. Leo and Andrea McAllister are the only two people who know what happened before he left, and one of them is dead." He pinched the bridge of his nose. "I just wanted to take a break before I have to go back there and make more of an ass of myself."

At the moment, David looked completely abject and hopeless, and Jake gently moved close and pulled David up against his chest. "You said you needed something," he said softly. "What is it you need?"

David put his arms around Jake. "You."

"And what do you need me to do?"

David sighed. "You know…"

Jake smiled. "And why do you need me to do that?"

"I need a pick-me-up."

"Because?"

"Because I always feel more confident after sex," David admitted.

"Because you want to get back in there and take another swing at Bergen," finished Jake. He let go and sat down on the edge of David's desk. "You're the Attorney General. Don't give up yet. Keep digging." He tapped David's desk. "Now help me clear off your desk."

* * *

"Okay, so what if Leo's paying these people to provide alibis?" said David, looking drastically different than he had a few moments ago. His eyes were bright and he was brainstorming possibilities in his head.

Jake sighed and paused what he was doing. He was sitting on top of David who was laying face-up on his now cleared-off desk. Jake been about to unbutton David's shirt when David had started speculating. "Uh-huh," Jake muttered. "You'll have to look into that."

Jake moved downwards and started kissing David's neck again. David shivered and smiled softly when Jake did that but then got an idea. "I've got it!" he said, holding up a finger.

Jake softly groaned and pulled back again.

"I'm not asking him the right questions," said David, looking at Jake but not really seeing him. "I have to get him emotional. I have to get him mad and on the defensive!"

"David," said Jake with exasperation. "We only have so much time. Do you want a quickie or not?"

Looking suddenly sheepish, David nodded. "I'll shut up."

David let Jake get close but then his eyes lit up and he pushed Jake off. "The night we met up with Marvin…where did you get the cocaine?" he asked, eyes wide.

Jake frowned. "What? Why?"

"I have an idea. Can you give me a name? A description?"

Jake shrugged. "He calls himself the White Baron. He's my go-to guy for that kind of stuff. I don't do it," he quickly assured David. "But sometimes our targets are like Marvin, and we needed to lure them out with their vices."

"Where does he typically do business?" David asked urgently.

"Bellevue. He hangs out around one of the bus stops off of South Capitol Street.

David nodded and pulled his phone out of his pants pocket. He dialed a number and waited. "Is this Narcotics? I need a favor." He quickly spoke instructions into the receiver and then hung up. "I'm taking Leo down," he said confidently.

Jake was frowning in confusion but then recognition dawned on him. "Leo's the Dust Buster," he said, remembering what Huck had told him about Kinky Sue's book.

David grinned. "Exactly."

Jake smiled back. "Oh that's clever," he said, as he started taking off his shirt, "Which is why I happen to like you so damn much."

"It's not rock solid, but I might be able to hold him for a little while longer if he's got a narcotic in his system. And then—,"

"David," said Jake.

David stopped talking and looked up. "What?"

"Don't ruin the mood."

* * *

Abby sneered when she saw David coming back down the hall. "So, how long will it take to get Leo discharged from this place?" she asked smugly. "Because it's going to happen. Because you have nothing, David, and you know it."

David raised his eyebrows and grabbed the door handle to the interrogation room. "So tell me something," he said, his voice cool and calm. "Why isn't your best friend, Olivia Pope, in there instead of what-his-face?"

Abby's smile dropped.

It was David's turn to look smug. "You asked her and she said "no" didn't she?"

"Shut up."

"Don't bank on Leo getting out today. I'm not done yet." He then jerked the door open and strode inside, leaving a floored Abby in his wake.

* * *

"Do you consider yourself mentally stable, Mr. Bergen?"

Leo sat back with his hands behind his head and snorted. "Where are you going with this, Rosen? Oh wait, you're not really going anywhere. You're grasping at straws, because you have nothing and you know it. I know you think me sleeping with your ex is a crime, but it isn't. It just means she likes me more than you. So just give me my discharge and I'll be on my merry way."

David pulled out a piece of paper from his briefcase and slid it across the table. "Is that the browsing history of a mentally stable man?" he asked skeptically. "They're all anti-Grant conspiracy theory sites." He looked up and watched Leo, trying to gauge his reaction to the list.

"You don't have to respond to any of this," said Leo's lawyer.

But Leo ignored his lawyer and laughed as he read through the list. "I've never been on these sites," he said, and tossed the paper onto the table. "This is ridiculous. Who gave you this?"

"Nobody gave it to us. We found it on your laptop," said David.

"Well you're wrong, I've never been on these websites. I don't believe in crackpots or conspiracy theories."

"Then why did they come up on your browsing history?"

Leo laughed again. "How should I know?!"

"Well, I happen to know someone else who would probably frequent some of those sites," said David casually. "Sally Langston."

Leo's expression suddenly hardened, all humor gone. "Sally has nothing to do with this."

"But you did almost get her elected," countered David. "And this is where I get confused. Why would you, a staunch democrat, be a radical republican's campaign manager? Sally's run was definitely a slap in President Grant's face. Did you manage her campaign because you have some kind of grudge against the President?"

"Don't answer that," said Leo's lawyer.

"Sally Langston had "winner" written all over her," countered Leo. "I don't care about someone's political party. As long as they have what it takes to win, I'll back them, because that means I get boatloads of money," said Leo.

"Is that why you also ran the campaigns of two other radical republicans, Dugan and McAllister?"

"Yes."

"Not because you knew they strongly opposed President Grant? Over the past year they've both fought against him tooth and nail for every piece of legislation he's tried to pass. I just find it odd that you, as a democrat, fought for these people who completely oppose your own beliefs. Or do you just hate President Grant that much that you would sacrifice your own political values in order to elect people you know would fight him on every issue?"

"I didn't but so what if I did?" said Leo. "It's not a crime."

David's phone vibrated and he looked down. He answered it as he glared across the table at Bergen. "Really?" he said, not taking his eyes off Bergen. "Thank you, detective."

He hung up and walked over and looked into the one-way mirror, knowing there were two FBI agents on the other side. "This interrogation is over. I'm ordering a drug test on Leo Bergen right now."

Leo sat up, smirk no longer on his face. "What?!"

David walked back to the table. "Narcotics just arrested a known drug dealer a little while ago. He called himself "The White Baron" but his real name is Ricky DeAngelo. He gave them a list of high-profile buyers in exchange for his charges being dropped. Your name was on that list."

"Are you kidding me?!" said Leo, but his confidence was gone, and he was looking nervous.

"If you're currently under the influence of a narcotic, then we'll have to postpone this interview," said David calmly, as the FBI agents came into the room.

When Abby saw the agents escorting Leo out and frowned. "What's going on?!" she demanded. "Leo?!" When she saw David emerge from the room, she rounded on him. "What happened?! Leo should be walking out of here, free! What bull-crap excuse did you pull out of your ass to keep him here?!"

David calmly shut the door. "Why don't you ask "The Dust Buster?" he said, and turned and walked away.

* * *

It was dark outside, and Olivia Pope was just about ready to go home for the day, when Abby walked into her office.

"Hey," said Abby softly.

Olivia looked up. "Abby? Is everything alright?" But the expression on Abby's face told Olivia that everything was not alright. "How did the interrogation go?" she asked quietly.

"The first half went okay," said Abby glumly, and she sat down across from Olivia. "Leo has a good lawyer. When David came out of the room, he looked like he lost, and I thought Leo would be out in a matter of hours. But then David came back… and a little while later, they hauled Leo off to get tested for drugs. They think he's been using cocaine."

"What do you think?" Olivia asked.

Abby shrugged. "I don't know. I know what he did with Sue Thompson, and the whole "Dust Buster" thing. If has been doing drugs, he's been doing a very good job at keeping it a secret from me."

"I'm sorry," said Olivia sympathetically. "I wish I could offer some help…but you know why I can't get involved in this one."

"I know," said Abby, trying not to sound bitter. "The President. You love him, and backing Leo, the guy who everyone believes is behind the plot to kill him, would seem like the opposite of that. I get it."

Olivia reached across the table. "Give me your hand."

Abby smiled sadly as she gave her best friend her hand.

"Whatever happens with Leo," said Olivia. "I will be there for you. I promise."

"Thank you," said Abby softly. She looked down and shook her head. "I know he didn't plot to kill the president, but if the drug test comes back positive, I don't know if Leo and I can come out of this together. I… I don't like the idea of being alone again."

Olivia smiled. "There's always David. He'll always have feelings for you."

Abby shook her head. "No. Liv… when David left the interrogation, he look defeated and humiliated. But when he came back… he was cocky and confident, and there's only one thing that can turn him around like that."

Olivia frowned. "Do you mean…?"

Abby looked up then. "Yeah," she said quietly. "I'm positive he's seeing someone."


	13. Chapter 13

It was after midnight, and David was still working on his case against Leo. He was seated on his couch, in front of his glowing laptop screen, papers and files strewn all around him. Jake had gone to bed an hour ago, and David was grateful for the solitude, because it helped him work better. He sipped at his cup of tea and scowled at the taste. He was out of instant coffee and had raided Jake's box of tea. He hated the taste but it gave him the focus he needed.

He planned on going back over to Supermax in the morning and interrogate McAllister again. He might be more willing to cooperate now that his wife was dead and Leo was the only viable suspect.

"I didn't kill him!" Jake yelled from the bedroom, and David jumped, knocking over the cup of tea onto the floor. He eyed his bedroom door and then shut his laptop and sat it down. He got up and went over to his bedroom. He slowly pushed the door open to see Jake twisting and turning in his sleep with a strained grimace on his face. "I didn't do it!" he said.

David cautiously made his way over to his bed and climbed in. "I know you didn't," he said, and Jake instantly went still.

"Who are you?" Jake said suspiciously, frowning in his sleep.

"Who are you talking to?" David asked.

"Who are you?" Jake repeated, annoyed. "That's not your voice."

David laid down on his side, facing Jake. "Who's voice should I have?" he asked quietly.

Jake didn't answer, and rolled over so he was facing David, but his eyes were still closed. "I didn't kill your son," he said. "I would never kill your son." He then went quiet and still.

David watched him for a few minutes, but it appeared the nightmare had faded. He pulled the duvet back up over the two of them and curled up against Jake's chest. "I believe you," he said softly.

* * *

In the morning, as soon as David arrived at his office, he noticed two men in suits were standing in front of his door.

"Sir, your presence is requested in the Oval," said one of the men.

David felt his blood go cold. "What happened?" he asked urgently.

"The President requests your presence at once," said the same man, ignoring David's question.

Frowning, David checked the time. "Well, I was planning to go over to Supermax…"

The two men did not step away from David's door.

David looked back at his secretary, who shrugged, and then back at the two men. "Okay," he said, knowing he didn't have a choice, and the two men then proceeded to escort him out of the DOJ.

* * *

David was led into the Oval where Fitz was patently waiting for him. "Mr. President," he said politely.

"David," said Fitz, equally polite and civil. "Have a seat," he said, gesturing to the couch.

David sat down, making sure to wait for the President to sit first. "Sir," said David, worried he would be in trouble for his case not moving quickly enough, "if this is about the case, I'm afraid I don't have an update just yet, but I was just on my way down to—,"

"That's not why I called you here," said Fitz brusquely, and David immediately shut up. Looking grim, Fitz handed David a sealed folder. "You should take a look at these."

Hesitantly, David took the folder. "Sir?" he asked. "May I ask what this is about?"

"You're a great Attorney General," Fitz assured David, who was looking uneasier by the second. "But this," he said, gesturing to the folder in David's hand, "has got to stop."

Feeling even more confused, David eyed Fitz apprehensively before slowly breaking the folder's seal and reaching inside. What he pulled out were a set of photographs, and when he realized what they were of, his face went ashen.

Fitz saw David's visible reaction and started speaking again. "According to various sources, Jake Ballard has become a frequent visitor to the Justice Department, mainly your office."

David swallowed hard. The pictures were clearly taken from the camera Charlie had found in the reception right out side David's office. Each one of them were various shots of Jake waiting and then going into David's office.

"Which made me wonder what you were up to," said Fitz, and he handed David a second sealed folder.

David closed his eyes as he reached for it, knowing what was probably inside. When he slowly pulled out another set of photos and looked at them, he felt sick.

Someone had been following him and Jake and taking pictures. There were clear pictures of them in David's apartment, and David made a mental note to close his blinds.

"Why?" David asked quietly. "Why do you have these, Mr. President?"

Fitz sighed. "Jake Ballard is dangerous, and he's not a friend of this administration. I was tipped off he was frequenting your office, so I had a camera installed and issued you a security detail. As you know, Jake's friend killed them all when he attempted to enter your office a few weeks ago."

"That was really you?" David asked, remembering Charlie's comment about the dead bodies he left in his wake the night he confronted David and Jake at the DOJ. "They really were my security detail?"

Fitz then gave David a little roll of film. "The negatives," he said. "I'm not blackmailing you. I don't care who my people sleep with, but stay away from Jake. Keep him out of the DOJ. When you took the attorney general position, you agreed to become a part of my domain. And Jake Ballard is to stay far away from my domain… is that clear?"

David looked down at the negatives in his hand and nodded. "Yes," he said quietly, too embarrassed to say anything else.

Looking satisfied, Fitz got up to see David out. "Good."

David stood up as well, but when he went to leave, it was like his legs refused to work. He knew he should just leave. It would be easier if he kept his mouth shut. But then he thought of Jake, and knew he couldn't be passive. "You know… I know what Jake's capable of," he said. "I know what he's done."

Fitz frowned and David suddenly locked eyes with him. "I know why you don't like him. I won't say it out loud, but I know." He cocked his head. "Is that why you beat him up in Supermax?"

Fitz's eyes widened. "Excuse me?"

David shook his head. "You know, I couldn't figure it out at first. Why he always screams at night. It's always the same phrase, every single time." He clenched his fists. "Do you know what the phrase is, Mr. President?"

Fitz crossed his arms. "No," he said quietly, his voice laden with a dangerous undertone of anger.

"I didn't kill your son," said David softly. "Over, and over, and over again. "I didn't kill your son… I didn't kill your son." Wasn't he in Supermax a while ago… for allegedly killing your son?"

"You're out of line, Mr. Rosen."

"When he came out of SuperMax, I saw the cuts and bruises," said David, pressing on. "You remember, you were there. You and Olivia asked me to help bring down Rowan. I met with you, Liv, and Jake in that little safe room. But here's the thing… I don't think you hit him because you thought he killed your son. I think you did it because he took _her_ away with him. That's why you beat him up, isn't it?"

Fitz was typically adept at concealing any physical signs of anger, but his eyes blazed and he approached his attorney general, furious. "How dare you," he whispered, and David backed away slowly. "I," said Fitz softly, as he closed in on David, "ought to slap you right across your insolent face. You have no idea what you're saying, or who you're defending, _David_," he said, saying David's name as if he were spitting out something vile. "Don't ever talk to me like that again. I gave you this job and I can take it away."

David was backed against a wall but he held the President's gaze. "You beat up my friend for something he didn't do," he said quietly. "I know how they handle high profile inmates. His hands were restrained and he couldn't defend himself. And you must have just kept hitting him and hitting him. And he was innocent the whole time. Did you ever apologize to him for that?"

Fitz took a few steps back, glaring at David the whole time. He didn't respond to David's question.

"I didn't think so," said David, and he turned to leave. "Goodbye, Mr. President."

* * *

Jake was trying to stay calm while David frantically paced around his apartment.

"He had pictures, Jake!" said David, and he tossed the folder onto the floor. "The President has pictures of us…together!" David gripped the sides of his head and groaned. "Oh my God…" he choked out.

Jake grabbed the folder and frowned when he saw the photos. "Someone's been following us!"

"Yes!" shouted David. "A security detail! He assigned a security detail, because someone told him you were hanging around Justice, but then Charlie killed them all!"

"And that camera Charlie found saw everything," said Jake.

"He's going to tell Liv," said David anxiously. "And then Liv is going to tell Abby, and then we're both royally screwed!"

But Jake was shaking his head. "He won't tell Liv," he said.

"Like hell he won't!" said David angrily. "If this gets out we are both dead in the water! Houston, we have a serious problem and you don't seem to be giving much of a crap!"

"He won't tell Liv," assured Jake. "Because telling Liv would mean attention she's giving to him would suddenly be occupied with me again. She would want to know why, she would be curious, she would be angry, and that means he wouldn't have her undivided attention anymore. So he won't tell her."

David sat down, wanting to believe that. He looked up at Jake. "Why is this such a big deal to him?" he asked, exasperated.

"Because I'm trespassing on his turf," answered Jake. "And whenever I do that, I'm a threat."

David rubbed his forehead. "I snapped at him," he said quietly.

Jake sat down next to David. "You did what?" he asked.

David sighed. "I snapped," he said. "After he showed me those pictures, I was scared and embarrassed… but then I got angry. Who was he to try and tell me what to do, who to see. So I snapped. Now I think he's going to find a way to get rid of me."

Jake put his arm around David. "He won't get rid of you," he assured David. "But I am curious…what did you say?"

David closed his eyes and sighed again. He suddenly hugged onto Jake tightly.

Puzzled, Jake hugged David back. "David?" he asked softly. "What did you say?"

"I told him I knew what he did to you in Supermax," David confessed. He looked up at Jake sadly. "I hear you yelling at night. You keep telling him you didn't kill his son. I figured it out… I'm sorry."

Jake shook his head. "David… It's over. What happened to me in Supermax is over."

David shook his head angrily. "No! It's not!" he said. "As long as you keep reliving it at night, and keep screaming, it'll never be over for you. What he did was horrible, and wrong. If I knew that, I would have tried harder to get access to you and get you out."

"It's over," repeated Jake. He patted David's shoulder and smiled softly. "Come on, don't be upset over something that happened a long time ago. Get up and go get those bad guys."

David gradually let go and sat up straight. "Okay," he said, and got up. He made sure he had everything in his briefcase and on his way out he stopped. "If you ever want to talk about it, you know you can talk to me," he said quietly and then left.

Jake watched the door close. "I know," he said softly.

* * *

"Access Denied," was the message that flashed in front of David. He frowned and swiped his access card again.

The card reader flashed red. "Access Denied."

"What the hell?" muttered David. He was attempting to get into Supermax, and he looked at the two guards stationed in front of him. "My card isn't working."

The one guard took David's card and looked it over. "It looks real."

"Yes, it is," said David testily. "So why isn't it working?"

"The chip in it could have been damaged," said the guard. "But I'm just speculating. Your best option is to just go get another one."

"I'm the attorney general!" said David. "Can't you just check the various other ID's I have and let me in?!"

"Can't do that," said the guard, and David threw up his hands in frustration. He tried his card one more time, and it flashed red again. "Access Denied."

David cursed under his breath and angrily turned back and stormed off. He hoped it wouldn't take forever to get another ID.

* * *

An hour later, David was making his way back to Supermax when an ambulance sped past. He walked a little faster and his eyes widened when he saw emergency vehicles blocking the entrance to Supermax. He hurried through the parking lot and looked frantically for one of the guards. When he spotted the same one who wouldn't let him inside, he made a beeline right for him.

"What's going on?!" he demanded, and the guard shook his head. "Four dead," he said somberly.

"Who?!"

Another guard spotted David and approached him. "Mr. Rosen… you need to come inside. All four of those senators you've been investigating are dead. Four suicides."


	14. Chapter 14

It was lightly raining as David left his office. It was lunchtime, he was hungry, and he couldn't think straight when he was hungry.

Andrea McAllister was David's biggest hope of getting Leo put away. Leo Bergen led those men on a campaign to assassinate the President, which thankfully failed. But now those four men were all dead and David knew their "suicides" weren't really suicides. Leo was cleaning house. The problem was, David couldn't link the suicides to Leo. He combed over the four suicide notes meticulously, and had come up with nothing to prove they had been coerced. Andrea McAllister was the only death Leo could possibly be linked to, and even then there wasn't much evidence to support that.

Leo was good. He had friends in high places. The only person David trusted at the moment was Jake. This was no longer just about finding Marvin's killer so Charlie could give him Leo's B6-13 file. It was beyond that now.

David had to put Leo away for everything. If he couldn't, he knew the blow-back on both the DOJ and him would be tremendous. Not to mention Charlie. It was obvious the second Leo somehow found out about his own B6-13 file, and found out a former agent who went by the name "Marvin" had it, he had him tracked down and killed. Charlie wanted justice for one of the few people who knew what it was like to be him…an agent trained to love killing. David didn't want to think about what Charlie would do to him if Leo walked.

He set his sights on a food truck up ahead when his phone suddenly buzzed. He ducked under an awning and pulled it out.

"David Rosen," he answered, looking out at the rain and wishing he had brought his umbrella.

It was his secretary. "Mr. Rosen… there's a man here who wants to turn himself in."

"For what?"

"For killing Andrea McAllister."

Everything suddenly looked like it was happening in slow motion. "What?" Was all David managed to say.

"Yeah, this guy came in and says he did it. Sir, you need to get back here right now."

Numb, David hung up and had no choice but to hurry back to his office. He weaved his way through the calm pedestrians on the street, feeling like everything was going to crumble to the ground the second he got back to his office.

* * *

An average-looking, middle aged, nondescript man who went by the name Peter Newark sat across from David, flanked by two federal agents on each side. To David, the man didn't look bright enough to change a light bulb, let alone commit calculated murder.

"_You_ killed Andrea McAllister?" David asked skeptically.

"Yes," he answered calmly, and David felt his blood pressure immediately spike.

"Really? Because we pulled home security footage from other houses on the same street Andrea lived on, and I don't see you anywhere."

"I like to wait," said the man quietly. "I know where the cameras are and get around them. They're the first thing I look for. I like to sneak in and wait a day or two, and just watch 'em before I kill 'em. Them houses, they're so big, you can find lots of places to hide and nobody will know you're there."

David shook his head. "Want to know what I think? I think someone bribed you into confessing. What is it? Do you have a kid who needs to get through college? A sick wife? Or did Leo Bergen just pull you out of the closest gutter and offer you a boatload of money?!"

Two agents suddenly burst into the room and David stood up, frowning. "We're in the middle of an interrogation!" he said, but the men paid him no mind as they hauled the man up into a standing position.

As they hauled Newark away, David moved to follow, but one of the agents turned around and blocked him.

"This interrogation is over," said the man. "We have his confession."

"You can't just-"

"We can," said the agent, and they proceeded to walk the man out of the room.

* * *

Destitute and defeated, David walked to his car in the parking garage. His day was over, and he felt like massive failure. Leo had been set free a few hours ago due to Peter Newark's confession, and there was nothing David could do. He knew the man must have been bribed into confessing, and he wasn't going to let it go. He whipped out his phone and shot Jake a quick text.

_Peter Newark. We need to look into him. NOW._

He pocketed his phone but froze when he thought he heard someone walking behind him. Fear glossed over him as he slowly turned around. He let out a sigh of relief when he saw nobody.

Then, as he was turning back around, he felt sudden pain explode across the back of his head, and he felt himself falling. His world turned black before he hit the ground.

* * *

"Hey, Harry Potter! You awake yet?!"

David slowly opened his eyes and winced. The back of his head throbbed. He found himself looking up at Charlie and frowned.

"What's going on?" he managed to say, and Charlie chuckled.

"You failed me, Rosen. That's what's going on."

David realized he was seated upright in a chair, and that his hands were bound behind the back of the chair. His blood ran cold. He looked around at their dingy, decrepit surroundings, and figured he and Charlie were in an abandoned building somewhere.

Charlie circled around David like a shark. "You let my friend's killer go, Rosen. I know that Peter Newark moron is just a bribed patsy. Leo Bergen walked free today and you didn't do a damn thing to stop it. And now my dead friend gets no justice. I think someone ought to pay for that, don't you?"

"Charlie…"

"Begging won't work," said Charlie calmly, his tone low and dangerous. "It might work with Ballard but it won't work with me. Ballard seems to have a soft spot for people. I don't. I'm not a defective unit like him. So buckle up."

"Please," David said weakly. "I need Jake's help… I promise I'll get Leo back behind bars, I just need Jake's help."

Charlie reached into his back pocket and pulled out a melon-baller. "I don't do promises." He walked up to David and brandished the melon-baller in his face. "You know what this is, right?"

David swallowed hard and nodded.

"And do you know what I'm going to do with it?"

David turned white and cringed. "I…I don't wanna say," he stammered, feeling sick to his stomach.

Charlie lightly tossed it to his other hand and caught it, grinning. "Oh, come on! You know! You're a smart guy!"

David started to violently shake. "Please," he begged weakly.

Charlie bent over and pulled David's glasses off his face. "Sorry. "Please" doesn't work on me."

About to pass out from fear and terror, David tried to move his face away from Charlie, who laughed.

"You're pathetic. I'm going to enjoy this."

"Stop! Please stop!" David cried, as Charlie's weapon got closer to his face.

A loud gunshot made both of them jolt, and Charlie dropped the melon-baller and whipped around, already reaching for his weapon.

Jake calmly shot the gun off again, and approached. "What's going on here, Charlie?" he asked.

Charlie slowly raised both hands over his head. "We were just having fun," he said.

Jake looked past Charlie at David and then looked back at him skeptically. "Doesn't look like much fun for David."

"Why do you care about Mr. Peabody over there so much?" Charlie asked, and Jake shot the gun again and Charlie jerked at the sound.

"Geeze!" Charlie said, squeezing his eyes shut at the sound. "What the hell is your problem?!"

"Drop your weapon, turn around, and face the wall," said Jake, and Charlie blanched.

"What?"

Jake glared. "Do it."

Swallowing hard, Charlie turned around with his hands on his head. Jake slowly walked over to David, keeping his weapon trained on Charlie the whole time. With one hand, he undid the rope around David's hands.

When he was free, David collapsed onto all fours and vomited onto the floor.

Jake watched him nervously. "David?" he asked, but David just shook his head and retched again.

Jake slowly raised his head and glared at Charlie. "What did you do?"

"Oh please, he's being dramatic," muttered Charlie.

Jake knelt down and laid a hand on David's back. "What did he do?" he asked David quietly.

David just shook his head and covered his mouth. Jake waited and kept his eyes on Charlie. "Answer me, David."

"I don't want to say," David choked out, when he was able to talk.

Jake stood up and pulled David up. He pulled David close and held him against him with one arm, and pointed his gun at Charlie's back. "What did he do to you?" he asked calmly. "If I make Charlie tell me, I'm going to shove you out that door and do very bad things to Charlie. I'm going to hurt Charlie. I'm going to take that melon-baller and do to him what he was threatening to do to you."

David shook his head, feeling sick and horrified at the thought. "Don't!" he begged, cringing at the thought. "Please, don't!"

Jake stroked the back of David's head. "Then tell me what he was going to do to you. If you tell me, I'll take you home. I won't hurt Charlie."

Still shaking at the thought, David took a deep breath. "He… was going to… scoop my eyes out," he said weakly, and put a hand over his mouth so he wouldn't get sick again.

Jake's eyes hardened. "Really?"

David looked up and recognized the look in Jake's eyes. "No… you promised!" He saw how Jake's arm was still stiff, keeping aim, his eyes locked onto Charlie's back. David put a hand on Jake's outstretched arm and tried to push it down. "You promised," he said quietly, and Jake slowly lowered his gun and nodded. He then led a very relieved David towards the exit.

As they were about to cross the threshold, David felt Jake's hand push against the small of his back and he was suddenly shoved forward through the doorway.

"I'm sorry," said Jake, and he slammed the door shut in David's face before he could process what was going on.

David tried the handle but it was locked. "No!" he cried, and banged his fists against the metallic door. "No! Dammit Jake!" he yelled, and kept pounding frantically on the door.

When he heard Charlie scream, David closed his eyes and slammed his fist against the door one last time. He then slid to the floor and covered his ears, trying to block out Charlie's cries.

* * *

Jake emerged from the room, wiping his hands.

David sullenly looked up at him from his spot on the floor, and then looked away.

"I beat him up… that's all," he assured David, who scrambled up and glanced cautiously into the room to make sure Jake wasn't lying. Sure enough, Charlie glanced up at David, looking bloody and beat up, but he still had his eyes.

David ran his hand through his hair and breathed out a big sigh of relief. He turned back to Jake. "Can we go home now?" he pleaded, and Jake nodded.

"Come on," Jake said, and took David's hand.

As they walked, Jake noticed David kept reaching up to either touch his eyes or rub at them. "You're okay," he said softly, and David grimaced.

"I know… but if you hadn't come when you did…"

"You wouldn't be alive," said Jake, and David paled. "If Charlie was planning on disfiguring you in such a way, he was planning on killing you too. If I had gotten here a few moments later..."

"I know!" said David, cringing, not wanting to think about it.

"He won't touch you again," Jake assured David. "I made that very clear."

When they got outside, David quickly climbed into Jake's car and then curled up against the door after Jake drove away, staring out the window.

Jake glanced over at him. "You're going to have nightmares, you know."

David tensed up. "Don't remind me." He watched raindrops hit the window and then roll down, leaving wet trails in their wake. "How did you find me, anyway?"

"I can track your phone."

David rolled his eyes. "Of course you can." But he was starting to smile a little. He turned to Jake. "Thanks," he said softly.

Jake shrugged and turned down David's street. "I saw you suddenly left the DOJ and were headed into a neighborhood that's known for having too many abandoned buildings. I knew something was wrong."

When they parked, David, who, less than two hours ago, thought he would never see his home again, eagerly got out of the car. He froze when Jake got out and suddenly rushed over to him.

Thinking there was danger, David moved to duck down but Jake grabbed him and yanked David to him instead. Jake squeezed him tightly. "You know I love Liv," he said. "But I also love you too."

David's eyes widened and Jake pressed him up against him even harder as he spoke. "You care about me like Liv did. You treat me like a person. When I was in a bad place, you came to get me. People like me, and Huck, and Charlie… we don't know a lot of people like you."

David closed his eyes and leaned against Jake. "This wasn't supposed to happen."

Jake sighed. "I know."

"So what do we do?"

Jake shook his head and gazed down at David with a hopeless, desolate look on his face. "I wish I knew."


	15. Chapter 15

Jake was seated on a park bench with the Washington Monument behind him, casually people-watching. A family of four who were clearly tourists had captured his attention and were huddled around one another, currently studying a map. The sky was overcast and the air was cool, a sure sign either rain was on the way. A man and a small child with glasses walked past, and Jake checked his phone. He glanced up when he saw David walking towards him. "You're late."

David rolled his eyes and sat down. "I can't just take off all the time. The higher ups kinda, like, totally hate that."

Jake pulled out a piece of paper from within his jacket and handed it to David. "Leo's patsy lives in a bad neighborhood about twenty minutes from here. Always late on his rent. Been a blue collar worker all his life. He's also got three teens, one of which has very recently been accepted into Georgetown University."

David studied the information on the paper. "And let me guess… she hasn't applied for any student loans," he said sardonically.

"Not a cent. You know I can dig deeper than this, but if you want this to be legal, you have to take it from here."

"I know. I'll check it out and see if Newark's daughter really did get a full ride "Bergen" scholarship."

Jake adjusted his jacket against the wind and watched the tourist family a few yards in front of them hurry off, probably going to some museum. "And if this doesn't pan out? Then what?"

"I'll keep looking harder," said David, and he folded up the paper. "There's gotta be a way to nail Bergen once and for all."

Jake noticed the number of people had died down, and he looked up at the sky which had grown darker. "What if there's not a way?"

David frowned and glanced up, confused. "What do you mean?"

"What if he's got everything covered? He slips away through the cracks in your justice system and then what? What happens then?"

"He won't. I'll get him, Jake."

Jake shook his head. "David… if you knew how many bad guys get away with literal murder, you'd curl up in your bed and never crawl back out."

A look of angry betrayal crossed David's face. "You don't think I can do this..."

"That's not-"

"No. You don't think I can get him. Just like Abby, you think I'm a total failure too."

"David," said Jake, in a tone that instantly shut David up and made him sit up straight. It was Jake's no-nonsense tone, and David knew better than to keep talking. "Knock it off," he continued. "You're not a failure. But Leo is very good. Coming from me, that means a lot. He's one of the best I've ever seen at covering his tracks. I'm not questioning your abilities. But I've only seen guys like Leo a few times in my lifetime. Every time they get away."

From the indignant look on David's face, Jake could tell his words had done nothing to soothe David's bruised ego. Jake looked around and then discreetly put his arm around David. "Come on," he said softly. "You need to relax." He lowered his voice. "Meet me at my place after you leave work. We'll have some fun."

"Okay, I'm done!" said David angrily, and he pulled away from Jake and stood up. "I can screw you just fine, but when it comes to my _job_, I see you have different opinions!"

"You need to cool off," said Jake quietly.

David turned to go. "Whatever."

"I'm not done talking to you," called Jake, and David stopped in his tracks. "Get back here."

Balling up his fists, David reluctantly trudged back to Jake and sat down. "Yes, Captain Dillweed?" he asked sarcastically.

"We need to talk about us."

David quickly lost the attitude. "What?"

"Us. What do you want to do? Realistically, Liv isn't ever going to take me back. She's done with me."

"You still love her though."

"I do… but I also love you. I don't know if you still love Abby or not, and you don't owe me an answer on that. But if you still have a chance with her, go for it. I don't know if I'll ever be over Liv, and you deserve someone who loves you and you alone."

David stared at Jake sadly and then looked down at the grass. "I don't know," he said meekly. "I don't really know how I feel about her anymore, and that scares me a little." He slowly looked back up at Jake. "What if she did want me back? Would it hurt you if I chose her?"

Jake looked back at the only person who cared enough about him to pull him out of his dark place in the woods. The only other person besides Olivia who knew everything he did for B6-13 and didn't judge him for any of it. The only person who knew what the President did to him in Supermax and then tried to fight for him.

Jake smiled softly grabbed David's hand. "No," he lied. "If you're happy, I'm happy."

David studied Jake and then smiled. "You're lying."

"You don't have to decide right now," assured Jake, and they both got up.

David put his hands in his pockets. "So… about that offer to go to your place tonight… does it still stand?"

"Of course," said Jake and he leaned in close. "You're going to have to be punished for that "Captain Dillweed" comment," he whispered.

Smirking, David nodded, and then he walked past Jake as the two went their separate ways.

* * *

Abby's hand was cupped over her mouth as she watched the exchange between Jake and David. "No way," she whispered, wide-eyed. She was seated on a bench, too far away for the two to notice.

She watched as they both walked away in opposite directions, not believing what she was seeing.

"There's no way…"

* * *

Abby cautiously walked down the hallway and approached David's apartment door as if it housed something dangerous. She didn't know if anyone would be home, and she knocked twice and then went to go hide around a corner. After about two minutes, nobody had answered the door, and she approached again. She pulled out a little pouch of tools from within her jacket and got to work.

The door jimmied but didn't give. Abby frowned when it didn't pop open right away. She worked at it more, and then after a few more frustrating minutes, the lock gave way and the door swung open.

Abby gingerly stepped inside, nervous about what she would find. The apartment was neat as always, since David never left anything out of place. She started in the kitchen first, and opened up the liquor cabinet. Inside was David's standard bottle of bourbon. No surprise there, she thought. But there was also a tall, fat bottle of vodka sitting beside the bourbon. Abby frowned. David didn't drink vodka. She moved on to the fridge and noticed a fast food bag on the middle shelf. Abby opened it and grimaced when she pulled out a half-eaten cheeseburger.

David, who always kept his diet strictly kosher, would never eat meat and cheese together. Abby plunked the burger back into the bag and spied two cases of two different kinds of beer. One was the brand David liked, but the other was new to her. She never remembered him drinking it. Officially feeling uneasy, Abby shut the refrigerator door. Someone else was obviously living there, and she knew she would lose her mind if that someone was Jake. She couldn't even imagine how that relationship could have even started. It couldn't be possible. Maybe she was overthinking the interaction she saw at the park. It had to be a huge misread on her part. Jake might have just needed David's help with something. Goodness knows he needs it, she thought. Yes, that had to be it. David was helping Jake and he also had a girlfriend who happened to like Gettysburgers. That was a much more plausible explanation.

Abby looked down the hall and saw David's bedroom door was ajar. She made her way to a room she was very familiar with. Like the rest of the apartment, it was neat and clean. The bed was made. No clothes were lingering on any surfaces. So far no evidence of a lover or new fling was seen. But her sense of smell picked up on something. When Abby sniffed the air, she could make out traces of a cologne that wasn't David's. He rarely wore cologne, and when he did, it didn't have the woodsy, earthy tones she could currently smell.

Maybe he was trying something new out, she told herself, as she opened up David's closet.

She sighed with relief when she recognized all the clothes. There was the occasional sweater she didn't recognize, but she didn't pay much attention to those. David could have recently bought one or two.

Abby was about to leave when she thought of one more thing. She knelt down to check under the bed. Shock went through her when she saw a suitcase. She pulled it out and unzipped it. It was filled with men's clothes, most of which she didn't recognize… but she also thought she remembered seeing Jake in a few of the shirts the few times she interacted with him.

"Oh my God," she whispered, and quickly zipped up the suitcase and shoved it back under the bed as if it had stung her.

She stood up and hugged herself, her mind in disarray. "Oh my God..." What would Olivia say? Would Olivia even believe her? Would anyone believe her?

She knew she should leave. What did it matter to her if David had moved on… albeit with another man who happened to be Olivia's ex-boyfriend.

She was about to go when she spied David's nightstand. Knowing she should just go home and stop snooping, she went over and slowly pulled it open anyway. What she saw was a harmless looking manila envelope, and relief coursed through her. Obviously David had brought home a case from work.

Curious, she pulled it out. Only David would keep a case in his nightstand, she thought, and pulled out the thick stack of papers. She studied the cover page, read the title, and then deeply frowned. "Contract?"


	16. Chapter 16

"You need to learn how to listen," said David in a huff as he and Jake walked down the hallway. "I said the safe word _three_ times!"

Jake rolled his eyes. "And each time was followed up with "Oh! Wait! Nevermind! Don't stop…"

David colored. "Shut up." When he reached for his apartment key, Jake gently grabbed him and pulled him up against him.

"Stop," said David softly, but he was grinning. "My neighbors might see."

"So? Let them look," said Jake and he kissed David's neck.

"Stop, stop, stop!" urged David, as he gently extricated himself. "If Ms. Monahan next door sees this…"

"We'll give her a show," finished Jake.

David rolled his eyes again and went to put the key in his door but then saw it was unlocked. A sense of dread filled him and he backed away.

Jake saw what was going on and immediately pulled David back and went inside, gun drawn. David tried to follow but Jake pressed a firm hand against David's chest. "Wait here," he instructed, and then went inside. The place looked the same. But Jake could tell someone had been there. He checked the kitchen and living room first, and then carefully made his way down the hall, listening for the telltale rustle of someone trying to hide. He stepped into their bedroom and noticed a few things out of place, but then he saw the nightstand. "Uh-oh…"

David rushed in when he heard that, and followed the sound of Jake's voice. "What does that mean, "uh-oh"?!" he demanded. When he got to his bedroom, Jake glanced up at him.

"We're done for," Jake said quietly.

David followed Jake's gaze and saw the bottom drawer of the nightstand was pulled out. He put his face in his hands. "Oh my God."

"It's gone," said Jake grimly.

David's phone started to angrily buzz, and he numbly reached into his pocket to retrieve it. He saw who was calling and pinched the bridge of his nose. "I think I know who was here." He held out the phone so Jake could read the name.

_Abby Whelan Calling…_

* * *

Olivia was seated at her desk, her hands intertwined together and resting on the surface. The contract was laying in front of her, and she looked up at David and Jake with hardened, angry eyes. The two were standing together on the other side of her desk, looking guilty as hell.

"What do you have to say for yourselves?" she asked. Her voice was low but it was obvious there was a raging, angry fire on the inside.

"And it better be damn good!" Abby was standing off to the side, arms crossed, scowling at both men. "You're both disgusting!"

"How?!" snapped David, and Abby flinched, not used to that kind of voice coming out of David. "What makes us, "disgusting?!" he demanded, and Jake put a hand on David's shoulder.

"David," he said, but David jerked away.

"No, I want to know," said David, not taking his narrowed eyes off Abby. "What makes us, "disgusting"?! Because that's pretty rich coming from someone who's screwing Leo Bergen."

Abby stomped over to Olivia's desk and grabbed the contract. She shook it in David's face. "It's _disgusting_, because you two treat me and Liv like we're prizes instead of people! I don't care if you're with him, David. But you can't treat women like we belong to you! _That's_ what's disgusting about this whole thing. We aren't prizes to be won back! If you can't respect our choices, then leave us alone!" Abby then slapped the contract onto David's chest and stomped off.

Jake looked at David for a second and then hurried after Abby.

Olivia shook her head and reached down into a drawer to pull out a bottle of hard liquor. Wine wasn't strong enough for this particular debacle.

"Liv?"

Olivia looked up to see David still standing there, looking lost. "What is it, David?" she asked, her tone clipped. She just wanted him and Jake both gone at the moment. Possibly forever.

David stepped forward, looking uneasy. "Um… I don't know what to do."

"About what?"

"I like Jake."

"Obviously," said Olivia derisively, and unscrewed the cap. She pulled out a glass and poured herself a generous amount.

"At first I couldn't stand him. I was terrified of him," said David. "I only agreed to that contract because I wanted Abby back more than anything. I thought if I could just grin and bear it, I'd have her back. And then me and Abby would be together again and everything would be right with the world."

Olivia stopped what she was doing. "But it didn't work out that way, did it?"

David shook his head. "No. Jake and I got closer than I thought we would. When Abby used to verbally cut me down, I'd feel awful. But when she was yelling just now… I didn't care," he said, as if he couldn't believe it himself. "I didn't care at all."

Olivia took a careful sip. "You're moving on, it's normal."

"He told me he loved me," said David quietly.

She had been about to take another sip but paused. Olivia stared at David for a moment before putting her drink down. "What?"

David saw the surprise on her face. "He said he loves me," he repeated, looking sad and troubled. "And I don't know what to do."

"Do you love him?" Olivia asked.

"I can't love two people at the same time. The more I spent time with Jake, the less I felt for Abby. At first I didn't notice it… and when I did I didn't want to admit it. Because Abby is familiar. She is normal and safe. I never really know what to expect from Jake. He is the total opposite of predictable. You know me. I can't do unpredictable."

"But you love him?"

David crossed his arms and looked down. "Yeah," he admitted quietly. "I love him and I don't love her anymore… and that terrifies me."

"And you want some advice?"

He looked absolutely desperate at that moment. "Please."

Olivia put her hands together. "Right now, you don't deserve any advice I might have. What you and Jake did was despicable, and it totally undermined my and Abby's rights as women and individuals. Jake is possibly facing a permanent ban from this office and you, at least a couple of days. I'm going to tell you one thing, and then you and Jake are to leave, and do not come back unless you are invited. Do you understand?"

David quickly nodded.

"Good," said Olivia. "And all I want to say, is that if you love him, you're going to have to adapt. Jake is not normal. He will never be normal. If you love him and want to be with him, you will find the power to adapt. That's how love works. But he will also have to adapt to you. It goes two ways. Now get out of my office."

* * *

Abby furiously punched the elevator button and felt someone coming up behind her.

"Hey," said Jake, and he grabbed Abby's arm. "Give David a break."

Abby wretched her arm away from Jake. "Get off me!"

Jake stepped back and held his hands up. "I just want to talk."

"Well I don't!"

"I strangled him," said Jake, and Abby froze. "I wanted something he had, and he wouldn't give them to me, so I strangled him. Before that, I bullied and terrorized him whenever I wanted him to do something for me. He was meek and easy to manipulate. I actually threatened to kill him multiple times. I practically forced him into this contract, knowing he wouldn't be able to resist. But every day, he is kind to me. He doesn't judge me. He listens to me. He stood up to the President for me. Despite everything I've ever done to him, David Rosen stands up for me."

"David will stand up for anyone," said Abby dismissively. "You're not special." She turned around to get into the elevator but Jake put an arm out to stop her.

"I like how he calls hotdogs "weenies"," he said, and Abby frowned. "I like how he puts out food for me before he leaves every morning. I like how he gets up early every Saturday, just to eat cereal and watch old TV show reruns. He gets annoyed if I leave a glass or dish out overnight. If he goes through the whole day without saying something sarcastic, I know something's wrong. When he gets upset he puts a hand over his mouth because he doesn't want anyone to see how hurt he is. I like how smart he is. He likes the cologne I wear but he'll never admit it. He doesn't like to admit to a lot of things. He hugs me when he thinks something or someone is hurting me. When I'm with him I feel happy and loved." He looked away then. "And I told him that if he still has a chance with you, to forget me. Because I still have feelings for Liv, and I don't know how I can possibly love him back the way he deserves."

Abby crossed her arms and looked down, and Jake noticed she looked less angry.

"I was in a very dark place not too long ago," he continued, "and David came to get me. He cares about me. Besides Liv, David fights for me. I love him and I need him. But if being with you truly makes him happy, then I'll find a way to let him go."

Abby studied Jake for a long while before speaking. "There are days when I miss David," she said. "But I've moved on." The elevator opened up again and Abby stepped inside. "I'm done now."

Jake watched the doors close and heard footsteps behind him. He turned around and saw David slowly walking towards him, hands in his pockets.

"Hey," said Jake softly. "What were you talking about with Liv?"

"Stuff. What were you talking about with Abby?"

Jake softly smiled. "Stuff. So what now?"

David shrugged. "We go home and try to shake off the horrific embarrassment we both feel right now."

"I'm up for that," said Jake, as they both waited for the elevator to come back up. David pulled his hand out of his pocket, reached over, and gently held Jake's hand. "I love you too," he said quietly. "I'm sorry I didn't come out and say it before."

Jake smiled as he waited for the elevator. "It's okay."

David tugged on Jake's hand. "I need you to look at me right now. In the eyes," he said firmly, and Jake obliged.

"I want you to know that I choose you," said David sincerely.

Jake took a deep breath. "I'm giving up on Liv," he said. "I won't pursue her anymore. But I can't promise there won't be days where I miss her. I don't know if or when I'll ever be completely over her. Are you sure you're okay with that?"

David squeezed Jake's hand. "Yes," he said softly.

Jake grabbed David then and hugged him tightly. When he heard the elevator coming back up, he grinned. "Think we can fit something fun in on the way down?"

"Not here!" said David. "You know Olivia has cameras!"

"I don't care."

The doors opened and Jake looked back to make sure they weren't being watched. But David suddenly jerked backwards, making Jake snap to attention.

"Oh God!" David cried.

The elevator was empty but Jake froze when he saw a small spatter of fresh blood against the wall.

Jake saw the blood too, and then let go of David and immediately ran back down the hall. "Liv!"


	17. Chapter 17

Inside Olivia's office, it was like a war room.

"Oh my God, he killed her," said David, his hands on his head, pacing back and forth. "Oh God…" All that blood. She couldn't be alive. He was so panicked that all other sounds were muffled. Jake and Olivia were shouting at each other, but David wasn't really hearing them. "It's all my fault…"

Jake and Olivia paused and stared at David.

"What do you mean?" Olivia demanded and advanced on David. "What did you do?!"

David bit his bottom lip. "I found evidence Leo Bergen paid some guy to take the fall for Andrea McAllister's murder." He looked up at Jake. "I looked into it as soon as I was back in my office. Leo had set up an account in another name, so it wasn't easy but we found the bank statements. I issued a search warrant for his apartment and a warrant for his arrest. I think he's been bribing someone in my office for info. He must have known I was coming after him… that's why he took Abby. They've been living together for a while and she must know some things he's done in the past...now he's going to get rid of her…"

Olivia whipped out her phone and started texting.

"What are you doing?" David asked, but Jake knew.

David walked around and saw what she was typing, and then realized what she was doing too.

"_Hey, hope you got home okay! Working late. I knew you were pretty upset when you left. Let me know you got home safe."_

Olivia sent the text. "Now all we can do is wait," she said tensely.

A few moments later, her phone buzzed.

"_I'm fine. Just got home."_

Olivia tossed the phone to Jake, who delved into the geo-data from the text.

"I have a location. Liv, keep texting until the location doesn't change. They'll keep answering because he doesn't want you to think anything's wrong."

She grabbed the phone back and fired off another text.

David managed to get over his panic and pulled out his phone. "They were still working on a search warrant when I left the office. I'm heading back over there now."

"Go!" said Olivia, and she tossed the phone to Jake again after she got a reply.

"She's my best friend," she said to Jake, and her voice cracked. "We have to save her…"

* * *

Federal agents busted down the door to Leo Bergen's apartment. Not surprisingly, nobody was home.

A tech rushed in. It only took her a few minutes to find a removable flash drive. She pulled out her laptop and plugged in the drive. David looked anxiously over her shoulder, praying they would find evidence and not nonsense. He was only half listening to the other agents who were combing through the apartment.

"Whoa. I found the drafts of the threats…" said the tech, sounding shocked.

David frowned. "Threats?" he said.

"Check this one out.

When the tech clicked into it, it read as follows:

"_If you want your wife and child to live, kill yourself. If you don't I'll do to them what I did to Andrea McAllister."_ The letter then went into gory detail into how Leo would have the families killed.

"So that's why the senators all killed themselves," said David quietly. "They were protecting their families." He knew McAllister's wife had already been killed before he got the threat, but McAllister did have two grown sons with families of their own.

The tech started going through the other personal files on the drive. "And this looks like a very detailed assassination plot," she said, and David studied it over his shoulder. "We've got him," he said quietly, not quite believing it. David walked away from the tech and over to the other agents. "Anything?" he asked.

"A rental agreement for a storage unit," said one.

"Where?!" David asked urgently.

"Silver Spring," answered the agent.

David immediately dialed and Jake picked up on the first ring.

"It's been two hours!"

"Storage unit in Silver Spring. Go!" he said. "And you try getting a judge to stay late to grant a search warrant." He motioned for one of the agents to check a closet.

"Thanks. By the way, I figured out how Leo knows about his B613 file," said Jake, immediately gaining all of David's undivided attention. "Senator Dugan used to be one of us."

"Dugan was in B613?" David asked incredulously.

"Yeah."

"Oh, and something else," said Jake. "Leo's not the only one who's been giving out bribes at the DOJ. I found out Charlie bribed one of your interns for info about the case, which is how he knew about Bergen and also how he knew you let Bergen go."

"I want that intern's name," said David flatly.

"Later. Right now just do what you do best."

David hung up and looked around the room. "Don't leave anything un-turned," he ordered. He had the evidence… all he needed was Leo Bergen.

* * *

Jake drove as Olivia attempted to calm down in the passenger seat. They started to hit heavy traffic, which made Olivia panic more.

"Why is there so much traffic?!" she said angrily, and tried to roll down the window so she could see.

Jake looked up ahead and softly cursed. "Construction."

Olivia banged the back of her head against the headrest in despair. "She's dead…" she said sadly. "Abby's dead…"

"We don't know that," said Jake.

Olivia watched as they slowly inched along, feeling her frustration build, knowing there was no way to make them go faster. They were stuck. She turned and looked at Jake gratefully. "Thank you," she said softly.

"You don't have to thank me," said Jake kindly. "Whatever happens with Abby, just know you're not alone."

She folded her arms and nodded, trying to keep herself collected. Olivia glanced over at Jake again and was reminded why she fell for him.

Jake caught her looking and smiled. "Liv… you chose," he said gently. "And so did I. I made a promise to him and I'm keeping it. But I'll still be there for you when you need me… as a friend."

Jake's words were kind, but they also permanently cemented his own choice, as well as Olivia's.

The traffic started to lighten up, and Jake could speed up. "I can't be romantically available to you anymore. Because in the end, you'll always choose him. And now I have someone who chose me for a change, and it feels pretty good."

Olivia smiled sadly. "You were always so understanding every time I went running to him… at least I thought you were until I found out about the contract."

"I missed you. I was addicted to you. But that's no excuse for what I did."

"I know."

They were past the construction area and moving at a regular pace again.

"Do you think she's still alive?" Olivia asked, worriedly looking out the window.

Jake remained silent, and Olivia tried to blink away the tears.

* * *

Abby felt herself opening her eyes, but saw nothing but pitch darkness. She felt dazed and wondered if this was what death was… black nothingness. As she slowly regained her senses, she realized a soft cloth was bunched up in her mouth, and she couldn't make a sound. Her feet and hands were tied, and she was curled up in the fetal position on the cold, hard floor. She weakly moved her foot and her heel scraped against the hard cement. It was cold and damp. Fear coursed through her when she realized she wasn't dead, but being kept somewhere. Memories started to come back to her, and tears rolled down her face. The masked men who had pulled her out of the elevator… she remembered fighting back, punching one of them in the face so hard blood splattered against the wall of the elevator. But then one of them dealt a blow to her head, and things got fuzzy after that. She remembered being thrown into a van, having to listen to bits and pieces of her abductor's conversations while drifting in and out of consciousness. Her eyes stung when she remembered the worst part… she distinctly remembered hearing Leo's voice among the abductors, clear as day. She remembered the harsh feelings of betrayal and confusion washing over her after hearing him. Why would he do that to her?!

She suddenly heard a car pull up and muffled voices. They were back, she realized with absolute dread.

The pitch dark disappeared when the door was pulled up and light flooded into the unit.

Abby squinted her eyes and braced herself.

"Abby!" Olivia called, rushing over to her friend and kneeling down beside her. "It's me!"

Unable to believe it, Abby cracked open her eyes, and wanted to cry with relief when she saw her best friend looking down at her.

Olivia pulled the cloth from Abby's mouth and started untying her bounds.

Jake hurried over to help.

"It was Leo," Abby said tearfully, and covered her face when her hands were free. "I heard him, Liv… I heard him."

Olivia tightly wrapped Abby in a hug and Jake got up to give them privacy. He went back to the car and leaned against the side, knowing he needed to call and check in soon.

"Hey it's me," he said into his phone. "We got her."

* * *

When David came home, he leaned back against the door, tired, hungry, and dazed.

"I have food."

Jake was sitting on the couch, with take out on the coffee table. "The geo-data from those texts matched up with the location of the storage unit. The guys were for a bit while they tied Abby up and then fled. I called the FBI, gave them the info as well as your name. Did you get them?"

David trudged over and practically threw himself into his couch. "I actually just got off the phone with the FBI. They caught the kidnappers heading West on I-495. The other team pulled Leo over right as he was trying to cross into Pennsylvania. We've got them."

Jake handed David a box of noodles. "Good," he said. "I know it's hard for you to keep calm when things like that happen, but you did great. You found everything you need to put Leo Bergen away for life."

"Yeah," said David, and he leaned back and eyed Jake. "How's Abby?"

"She's at the hospital with Liv. She'll be okay."

"I'm glad she's okay," said David softly. "I'm sorry she got wrapped up in this."

"It's nobody's fault but Leo's."

David poked at his dinner. "So… in the car… how was Liv?" he asked shyly.

"I know what you're trying to ask," said Jake with a slight grin. "I told her I chose you and that was that."

David turned red. "Sorry…"

"It's okay."

"Oh, before I forget," said Jake and he got up and pulled a folder off the counter and handed it to David. "Leo Bergen's B6-13 file. It's all yours."

David frowned. "When did you get this?"

Jake shrugged. "I beat it out of Charlie after I saved you from him that day," he said nonchalantly. "He told me how to find it."

The file was sealed and quite heavy. It was no doubt filled with covert misdeeds. David stared at it for a few moments before handing it back to Jake. "Burn it," he said. "I don't want it anymore. I haven't wanted it in a long time."

"Are you sure?"

"Positive."

David was just starting to relax and leaned against Jake when Jake's phone suddenly buzzed.

Jake quickly got up and checked it. "I gotta run out real quick," he said, and David eyed him skeptically. "Is this assassin stuff?" he asked suspiciously. "Because I thought you were done with assassin stuff."

"It's not," assured Jake, and he gave David a quick kiss. "I'll be back," he promised, and threw his coat on.

David twirled his fork around inside the noodle box. "Just so you know, if you come back here with blood on your clothes, I'm not washing them."

He heard Jake snort with laughter as he shut the door. David tried to shake off all the stress of the day and finish his dinner. He saw Jake had laid his mail on the coffee table for him and reached for an envelope.


	18. Chapter 18

Sally Langston sat across from Cyrus and delicately smoothed her hair in the front. "It's quite late, Cyrus. I hope I'm here because there's good news," she said curtly.

Cyrus managed a civil half-smile. "Leo Bergen has been taken care of."

Sally let out a sigh of relief. "That is good news indeed." She sat back in her chair and sniffed. "Can you believe the nerve of that man? I paid him quite handsomely for all his services back when I was running for president, but then he came to me after I landed my television program, demanding more money, saying I could afford it now that I had my own show. And then threatening to go public about Daniel if I didn't comply." She examined her nails and blew out an indignant breath of air. "I love this country, Cyrus, but I do worry about this culture of greed we Americans seem to have sown for ourselves."

Cyrus folded one hand over the other on his desk. "Leo Bergen was arrested a few hours ago and charged with conspiracy to kill the President. My partner here planted all the evidence the Attorney General is going to need for a conviction. Everything's kosher. The nation thinks Leo Bergen is a mad man. Anything he says from here on out will be treated as crazy-talk from a blithering, radical extremist. Now, I know what you're thinking. It would have been infinitely easier to just have him killed, but he'll be staying alive for insurance purposes. You agreed not to make another run for president if I helped you, Sally. If you go back on that promise, I'll have Bergen declared sane in a matter of hours and make him free as a bird if he agrees to testify in a courtroom that you told him you stabbed your husband."

"Fine," said Sally, and she glanced over her shoulder at the man standing behind her. "And I trust your "partner" knows how to keep his silence?"

Cyrus smiled cordially. "He knows how to keep a secret… don't you Jake?"

Jake Ballard stepped forward and nodded, looking straight ahead.

With her wealth and reputation intact, a satisfied Sally stood up and bid Cyrus and Jake goodbye.

Jake moved to leave too, but he was interrupted before he reached the door.

"Ballard… a word?"

Cyrus's smile turned into a sneer. "When you first strode in here and threatened the President with Winchester if he didn't give you Olivia back, you had no idea how quickly I would turn that around on you, did you? I know who your mother is. Margaret Cooper. I know where she lives. I've known for a very long time. Let's just say you're lucky that coke addict's run-down van was the only thing I had torched after you issued your threat. If you ever try to blackmail the President by threatening to bring up Project Winchester ever again, I will have you and your mother shot… do you understand?"

"Yes."

"I hope you mean that. Because those four dead Senators who are now six feet under the ground also thought they could blackmail the President. You see where that got them." He chuckled. "I was just about to take care of them when Sally came to me with her Leo dilemma… and then right after that you threatened to blow the whistle on Winchester. I realized I could kill two birds with one stone and make you do it for me, as punishment for being arrogant enough to think you could threaten the President. As far as those four idiots were concerned, I turned their little blackmail mission into an assassination attempt. That got them thrown into Supermax. Then, I take all of Leo's credibility away by tying him in as the ringleader of those four dead buffoons. And the best part?! He actually worked on two of their campaigns! It was perfect! Those four Senators knew too much. They had to die, and I made it look like Leo made them kill themselves. And Rosen was dragging his heels with the whole investigation so I orchestrated Red's fake-kidnapping so he'd step things up a bit. I even had one of the men play a voice recording of Bergen's voice so Red would believe he really is a bad guy and turn on him. I can't have my press secretary pining away for a convicted criminal now can I?"

"Are we done?" Jake asked quietly.

Cyrus eyed Jake with mock concern. "Aw, are you feeling guilty about having to deceive Rosen for me? I didn't think people like you could even understand love, especially considering how you gunned down my husband."

Jake folded his arms. "I do love him," he said, his voice hard.

"Just remember that if you ever try to do damage to the President's reputation again. And with that I believe we're done. You can go now."

Jake exited Cyrus's office and entered the Oval, where Olivia and Fitz were waiting for him. They both looked at him expectantly.

"Everything's fine now," Jake said. "It's all contained. Winchester, Leo Bergen, those senators, they've all been taken care of. It's over."

Olivia and Fitz both seemed to exhale at the same time with relief. But it was short lived as Olivia rounded on Fitz. "Don't _ever_ have Cyrus Beene kidnap one of my friends ever again!" she said angrily. "Jake and I had no idea you two were behind that… we thought it was real… that Leo snapped! I thought my best friend was dead!"

"I didn't know about it either!" argued Fitz. "Liv, I would never do anything to harm one of your friends, I swear."

Olivia shook her head. "No, you'll just frame the man she loves and incarcerate him for the rest of his life. You and Cyrus could have found another way."

"While I don't agree with it, I also don't believe Cyrus had much of a choice! Do you want Sally Langston as your future president?!"

Crossing her arms, Olivia glanced down. "That's not the issue here."

"We did what we had to do," said Fitz solemnly. He turned and approached Jake next. "And as for you, I never want to hear "Winchester" out of your mouth ever again. Out of anyone's mouths. Because it's over. It never happened."

Jake managed a polite smile. "Understood. Sir." He checked the time and nodded at them both. "If that's all you need, I'm going home," he said, and turned to go. He exited the Oval and heard the door click softly behind him. His phone buzzed and he checked it. David. "Hey," he said, grateful to hear David's voice. "I had to run out for a little, but I'm on my way home. What's going on? Are you okay?"

* * *

There was an opened envelope on the coffee table. David's hand shook violently as he held the phone against his ear. With his other hand, David was tightly gripping a letter. "No, Jake. I'm not okay."

He drew in a shaky breath as he reread the letter for the umpteenth time. "I need Olivia Pope."

* * *

To be Continued in my next story, "Project Panic"


End file.
